Jokers

/ˈdʒoʊkɚz/ noun

Definition

Cards in a deck that are not part of the standard 52; or people who like to make jokes and say funny things.

Etymology

From 'joke', which may come from a variant of 'jocular' (from Latin 'jocosus' meaning 'humorous'). The card meaning appeared in the 1860s when these extra cards were added to decks for new games.

Kelly Says

The joker card in decks wasn't invented until the 1860s in America for a game called Euchre—before that, playing cards only had 52 cards and no wild card!

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