Emily Dickinson Lexicon

JEST, n. [Sp. and Port. chiste, a witty saying, a jest or joke; chistoso, gay, facetious; allied perhaps to L. gestio.]

1. A joke; something ludicrous uttered and meant only to excite laughter. Religion should never be the subject of jest.
2. The object of laughter or sport; a laughing-stock. Then let me be your jest, I deserve it. – Shak. In jest, for mere sport or diversion; not in truth and reality; not in earnest. And given in earnest what I begged in jest. – Shak.
3. A mask.
4. A deed; an action. [Obs.]