Juglynge

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Skilled performance of sleight of hand and tossed objects ; mocking jokes or cunning deception meant to fool others
2. The art of performing quick tricks with the hands ; teasing jests or sly contrivances designed to mislead people
3. Nimble feats of conjuring and manipulation ; playful mockery or crafty deceit used to trick and amuse an audience

Etymology: "Juglynge" is a Middle English word, found in medieval texts, meaning the performance of tricks or entertainments, and by extension quick sleight of hand, the sense the context supplies here. It belongs to the family of "juggler," which in Old French was "jogleor" or "jogleour," from Latin "joculator," a jester or minstrel, itself from "joculari," to jest. The medieval juggler was less a specialist in tossing balls than a general entertainer who sang, recited, told jokes and performed acrobatics, so the word's original sense was broad. The Middle English "juglynge" is a noun formed from the verb "jugglen," to perform juggling or trickery, with the suffix "-ing" marking the action or its result. Over time the word narrowed: the singing and storytelling dropped away, and "juggling" came to mean the manipulation of objects, while the sense of deceit it had acquired lingered in the figurative "juggling the books" or "juggling facts."