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Glite Dictionary
jester

jester

21 7.4
A person who entertains a king or queen with jokes and tricks
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒɛstər/
: bufón
  • Dramatic setting: Rigoletto, a court jester, tries to protect his innocent daughter by keeping her at home.
  • a court jester

I was more or less the court jester and I was there.

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Examples

  • "The judges and the inmates, even the court jester, hung on every word."

    Fiction book (2000)

  • I am but a humble jester, and you are too far above me.

    Singin' in the Rain (1952)

  • For much of his life, Cage was cast as a court jester or holy fool.

    Blog text (7)

  • We are just court jesters, entertaining the prince.

    China Salesman (2017)

  • The Court Jester came bounding into the room and sat down at the foot of the throne.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The Court Jester strummed on his lute for a little while.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • In the grand hall, the jester performed tricks that had the nobles laughing uproariously.

  • The king's jester told witty jokes that often contained sharp commentary about court life.

  • During the festival, the jester entertained the crowd with his silly antics and clever wordplay.

Synonyms

clown
vsjester
497 1.0

A performer who wears bright clothes and makes people laugh

is the royal court professional, not mainly a circus performer
comedian
vsjester
313 1.7

A person who makes people laugh by telling jokes or acting

is an older court job focused on amusing royalty, not modern shows
fool
vsjester
  • Archaic
22 8.8

An entertainer who amused a king or noble in the past

is the occupational term used for royal entertainers in the past
prankster
vsjester
21 4.1

A person who plays tricks on people to make them laugh

is a professional entertainer whose acts aim to amuse royalty, not trick people
jokester
vsjester
9 4.4

A person who often makes other people laugh

is the professional royal performer rather than an informal joke lover
funster
vsjester
  • Informal
1 8.9

A person who makes others laugh in a group

is the formal medieval court role rather than casual group amusement
merry andrew
vsjester
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who acts silly to make other people laugh

is the medieval professional role rather than a general silly performer
motley fool
vsjester
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A person who wears bright clothes at a court to make a king or noble laugh

is the standard name for that medieval court entertainer
japer
vsjester
  • Archaic
8.8

A person who makes jokes to make others laugh

is an official medieval entertainer employed by nobles, not just playful joking

How Funny

clown
497 1.0
comedian
313 1.7
jester
21 7.4
storyteller
62 2.3

Surface Forms

jester singular
jesters plural

Morphology

jester = jest (semi-transparent) = jest + er

The word clearly means 'one who jests', but the historical sense of a professional court entertainer is somewhat specialized.

Etymology

Jester comes from jest ('a joke') and from an old French word geste ('deed' or 'story'). Long ago a jester was the lively person who told stories and jokes at a king's court, so today a jester means an entertainer who makes people laugh.