# jester

Pronunciation: US say "JES-ter" /ˈd͡ʒɛs.tɚ/; UK say "JES-tuh" /ˈd͡ʒɛs.tə/

## Noun

1. A performer in brightly colored clothes and a fool's cap who entertained a royal or noble court in medieval and early modern times.
   - Simple: A person in bright clothes and a silly hat who made a king's or lord's court laugh long ago.
   - _The king kept a jester at his table, and the man's jokes were often sharper than the courtiers' flattery._
   - _In the painting, a jester in a red-and-yellow cap sits at the foot of the throne._
2. A person who jokes, jests, or teases.
   - Simple: A person who tells jokes or teases people.
   - _As the newsroom's resident jester, he kept everyone's spirits up through the long election night._
   - _Online jesters were quick to mock the senator's clumsy post._
3. Any of several nymphalid butterflies belonging to the Southeast Asian genus Symbrenthia.
   - Simple: Any of a group of butterflies from Southeast Asia.
   - _A jester settled on a leaf beside the trail, and the photographer crept closer with her macro lens._
   - _Lepidopterists have described several jesters from the forests of Southeast Asia._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To act in a foolish or clownish way for the purpose of entertainment or attracting attention.

## Origin

From Middle English gestour; it is equivalent to jest plus the suffix -er.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/jester (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).