Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “jokingly” come from?

Jokingly derives from English joke, from Latin iocus meaning jest or sport, traceable through Proto-Indo-European yek-.

jokingly (English): In a joking manner

Definitions

  1. In a joking manner

Ancestry of “jokingly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-lyUsed to form adjectives from nouns, the...
2EnglishgrislyHorrifyingly repellent; gruesome, terrifying;...
3Middle Englishgrisely—
4Old Englishgrisliċgrisly, horrible; dreadful, horrid
5Old English-līċsuffix forming {{glossary|adjective}}s meaning...
6Proto-Germanic*-līk—

Words derived from “jokingly”

  • unjokingly
Every word from Proto-Germanic *-līk →