English
joker
Joker may come from German Jucker ‘coach horse, light carriage horse’.
- Germanc. 1650–presentJucker‘coach horse, light carriage horse’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1922joker
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Germanc. 1650–presentJucker‘coach horse, light carriage horse’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1922joker
Earliest quotation: 1922, Farm Machinery and Equipment: “Discussion of contracts and the many provisions contained therein…”
Formed from joke + -er
Proto-Indo-European *yek- ‘to speak’
Proto-Indo-European *yokos ‘word’
Proto-Italic *jokos ‘word’
Latin iocus ‘joke’
English joke
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *springaną ‘to spring, to jump up’
Today it means
noun A person who makes jokes.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / German Jucker / joker