Punned

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have engaged in a clever use of language that plays on the multiple meanings of phrases or words
2. To have executed a humorous verbal trick by utilizing the various interpretations of a word through wordplay
3. To have participated in a form of wordplay that exploits the different meanings and sounds of words for comedic effect

Etymology: The verb "pun" has a surprisingly physical origin. Its earliest English form, "ponen" or "punen", came from the Old English "pūnian", meaning to pound, beat, bruise, or grind. The wordplay sense is thought to grow from that image of hammering words into place, as if a joke were forced together by blows rather than discovered by wit. "Punned" is simply the past tense and past participle of "pun", so it describes the act of having made such a joke. The noun for the joke itself came later, and the verb's connection to the older sense of beating is what gives the word its odd, hammered character.

Synonyms: joked, quipped