badinage

Definition

Playful raillery; banter.

Etymology

Borrowed from French badinage, from the verb badiner (“jest, joke”) from badin (“playful”), from Occitan badar (“gape”). Distantly related to abash.

Example Sentences

• "I am persuaded, if all gay badinage were prefaced by an explanation, it would be infinitely better received."
• "Your badinage so airy, / Your manner arbitrary, / Are out of place / When face to face / With an influential Fairy."
• ""[…] God knows that if you were only safely married to Jacob I would not care how much you saw of Henri; but as you are not, I think these badinages are very ill-timed and take your mind off the principal business.""