# joker
## English
### Etymology

From joke +‎ -er, but in the sense of a playing card possibly by alteration of Jucker, also the origin of the name of the card game euchre.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒəʊkə/
* (General American) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒoʊkɚ/
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -əʊkə(ɹ)

### Noun

joker (plural jokers)
* A person who makes jokes.
* (slang) A funny person.
* A jester.
    Synonyms: court jester, fool, jester
* A playing card that features a picture of a joker (that is, a jester) and that may be used as a wild card in some card games.
* (figurative) Something kept in reserve that can be used to gain an advantage; a trump card.
** 2008 September 18, Ian Rankin, The Hanging Garden: The #1 bestselling series that inspired BBC One’s REBUS, Hachette UK, →ISBN:Rebus decided to use their joker. 'Mr Lintz made a phone call to this office. He was talking for over twenty minutes.'
** 2012 January 1, Simon Packham, Silenced, Bonnier Publishing Fiction Ltd., →ISBN:Tash Wilson played her 'joker' , pulling her chair so close our legs were almost touching. 'Hey, Chris, do you want to go out sometime? All you've got to do is say the word.'
** 2016 October 17, Dipo Adesida, My French Teacher Had an Igbo Accent: An Inspiring Collection of Memories, Memoirs and Mischiefs, Partridge Africa, →ISBN:The director made me understand that my bubble of stardom could burst just as soon as it had been inflated if I didn't watch my attitude. Then he used his joker. I had an understudy so if I messed up or tried to create a scene, I would be summarily replaced.
* An unspecified, vaguely disreputable person.
    Synonym: clown
    Some joker keeps throwing eggs at my windows.
** A loser.
    Don't waste your breath on these jokers round here.
* (New Zealand, colloquial) A man.
* A clause in a contract that undermines its apparent provisions.
** 1922, Farm Machinery and Equipment, page lxxxiii:Discussion of contracts and the many provisions contained therein led to a vote making it the sense of the convention that manufacturers should use a simple sales contract, free from jokers.
** 1939, Canadian Parliament, Official Report of Debates, House of Commons, volume 218, page 858:Then, sir, on page 12 of the agreement there is a joker clause, which provides for payments in addition to the ten per cent, […]
** 1942, Billboard, volume 54, number 41, page 5:Stone claimed that there was a Joker in the contract, one clause (No. 2) calling for two weeks' notice and another (No. 8) calling for payment on a par-day basis after the first two weeks.
** 1958, Duncan Leroy Kennedy, Bill drafting, page 12:The object of these provisions is to prevent insertion of "jokers" or "sleepers" in bills and securing passage under the false color of the title.
* (military) A friendly unit that acts as a suspected hostile unit in a military excercise.
** 1998, APP-6A: Military Symbols for Land-Based Systems, page 9:Joker - A friendly track or contact acting as a "suspect" track for exercise purposes only. (STANAG 1241)
* The option, in a pub quiz, of selecting one particular round in which one's team will score double points.
    We used our joker as soon as the topic of sports was announced, since we are sport experts.

#### Derived terms

* cosmic joker
* joker in the pack
* practical joker
* video joker

#### Related terms

* joke

#### See also

Playing cards in English · playing cards (layout · text) :
| ace | deuce, two | three | four | five | six | seven |
| eight | nine | ten | jack, knave | queen | king | joker |

### Further reading

* Jester on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* Joker (playing card) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* Joker (character) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### Anagrams

* Rojek, jerko

## Danish
### Etymology

From English joker.

### Noun

joker c (singular definite jokeren, plural indefinite jokere)
* joker (playing card)

#### Declension
### See also

Playing cards in Danish · kort, spillekort (layout · text) :
| es | toer | treer | firer | femmer | sekser | syver |
| otter | nier | tier | knægt, bonde | dame, dronning | konge | joker |

### Further reading

* “joker” in Den Danske Ordbog

## Dutch
### Etymology

From English joker.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈjoːkər/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -oːkər

### Noun

joker m (plural jokers, diminutive jokertje n)
* joker (playing card)
* any wild card or similar, even in non-card games

#### Derived terms

* jokeren
* voor joker staan

## French
### Etymology

Borrowed from English joker.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ʒɔ.kɛʁ/
* (Quebec) IPA: /dʒo.kœʁ/, [dʒoʊ̯.kœʁ]
* Audio:(file)
* Audio (Canada):(file)

### Noun

joker m (plural jokers)
* (card games) joker
* (computing) wildcard
* (on a game show) lifeline
* (Scrabble) blank tile

### See also

Playing cards in French · cartes à jouer (layout · text) :
| as | deux | trois | quatre | cinq | six | sept |
| huit | neuf | dix | valet | dame | roi | joker |

### Further reading

* “joker”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Polish
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English joker.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈd͡ʐɔ.kɛr/
* Rhymes: -ɔkɛr
* Syllabification: jo‧ker

### Noun

joker m animal
* (card games) Alternative spelling of dżoker

#### Declension
### Further reading

* joker in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* joker in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒo(w).keʁ/ [ˈd͡ʒo(ʊ̯).keh]
* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒo(w).keʁ/ [ˈd͡ʒo(ʊ̯).keh]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒo(w).keɾ/ [ˈd͡ʒo(ʊ̯).keɾ]
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒo(w).keʁ/ [ˈd͡ʒo(ʊ̯).keχ]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒo(w).keɻ/ [ˈd͡ʒo(ʊ̯).keɻ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒo(w).kɛɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒo(w).kɛɾ/
** (Northern Portugal) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒow.kɛɾ/
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒo.kɛɾ/
* Hyphenation: jo‧ker

### Noun

joker m (plural jokers)
* Alternative form of jóquer

### See also

Playing cards in Portuguese · cartas de baralho (layout · text) :
| ás | dois, duque | três, terno | quatro, quadra | cinco, quina | seis, sena | sete, bisca, manilha |
| oito | nove | dez | valete | dama | rei | jóquer, curinga |

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French joker, English joker.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈd͡ʒo.kər/

### Noun

joker m (plural jokeri)
* (card games) joker