facetious

facetious
facetious 1590s, from Fr. facétieux, from facétie "a joke" (15c.), from L. facetia "jest, witticism," from facetus "witty, elegant, fine, courteous," of unknown origin, perhaps related to facis "torch." It implies a desire to be amusing, often intrusive or ill-timed. Related: Facetiously; facetiousness. "Facetiæ in booksellers' catalogues, is, like curious, a euphemism for erotica." [Fowler]

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Facetious — Fa*ce tious, a. [Cf. F. fac[ e]tieux. See {Faceti[ae]}.] 1. Given to wit and good humor; merry; sportive; jocular; as, a facetious companion. [1913 Webster] 2. Characterized by wit and pleasantry; exciting laughter; as, a facetious story or reply …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • facetious — index jocular Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • facetious — humorous, jocose, jocular, *witty Analogous words: joking, jesting, quipping, wisecracking (see corresponding nouns at JOKE): jolly, jovial, jocund, *merry, blithe: comical, comic, droll, funny, ludicrous, *laughable Antonyms: lugubrious… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • facetious — [adj] tongue in cheek, kidding amusing, blithe, capering, clever, comic, comical, droll, dry, fanciful, farcical, flip*, flippant, frivolous, funny, gay, humorous, indecorous, ironic, irreverent, jesting, jocose, jocular, joking, joshing,… …   New thesaurus

  • facetious — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ trivially or inappropriately humorous. DERIVATIVES facetiously adverb facetiousness noun. ORIGIN French facétieux, from Latin facetia jest …   English terms dictionary

  • facetious — [fə sē′shəs] adj. [Fr facétieux < L facetia: see FACETIAE & OUS] joking or trying to be jocular, esp. at an inappropriate time SYN. WITTY facetiously adv. facetiousness n …   English World dictionary

  • facetious — adjective Etymology: Middle French facetieux, from facetie jest, from Latin facetia Date: 1599 1. joking or jesting often inappropriately ; waggish < just being facetious > 2. meant to be humorous or funny ; not serious < a facetious remark > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • facetious — facetiously, adv. facetiousness, n. /feuh see sheuhs/, adj. 1. not meant to be taken seriously or literally: a facetious remark. 2. amusing; humorous. 3. lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential, amusing, or frivolous: a… …   Universalium

  • facetious — fa|ce|tious [fəˈsi:ʃəs] adj [Date: 1500 1600; : French; Origin: facétieux, from facétie joke ] saying things that are intended to be clever and funny but are really silly and annoying ▪ Don t be so facetious! ▪ facetious comments >facetiously… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • facetious — fa|ce|tious [ fə siʃəs ] adjective trying to be funny in a way that is not appropriate: I wasn t being facetious. facetious comments ╾ fa|ce|tious|ly adverb ╾ fa|ce|tious|ness noun uncount …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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