josh
verb

- to joke, often in order to tease someone

(Cambridge Dictionary)

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Who or what is josh might be the appropriate question for today’s word. Apart from being a verb, Josh (capitalized) is also short for Joshua, a male name.

The origin of the verb josh is not known. One theory is that it is a fusion of joke and bosh. Others have suggested that it refers to the 19th century literary comedian Henry Wheeler Shaw who wrote under the pen name Josh Billings. However, the verb was first used about 20 years before Shaw/Billings began writing.

Interestingly enough, josh is not the only English verb that is also a name when capitalized. Here are several other examples:

- chuck & Chuck = chuck means to throw (Chuck me that pillow over there) and Chuck is the nickname for Charles

- rob & Rob = rob means to steal (The convenience store was robbed again last night) and Rob is short for Robert

- skip & Skip = skip means to move lightly, making a small jump after each step (The girls are skipping along the pavement) and Skip is a nickname

- don and Don = don means to put something on (He donned his hat before leaving the house) and Don is short for Donald

- peg and Peg = peg means to make something stay at a certain level (The price of the stock was pegged at 100 euros) and Peg is short for Peggy

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SYNONYMS

jesting, joking, kidding, needling, ribbing, teasing

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Practice OWAD in a conversation today, say something like:

"Don’t take Bob too seriously. He’s only JOSHING."