different between joker vs wildcard

English

Etymology

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^(key): /?d???k?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?d?o?k?/
• Rhymes: -??k?(r)

Noun

joker (plural jokers)

1. A person who makes jokes.
2. (slang) A funny person.
3. A jester.

   Synonyms: court jester, fool, jester

4. 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.
5. An unspecified, vaguely disreputable person.

6. (New Zealand, colloquial) A man.
7. 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.

Related terms

• joke

See also

• ????, ????, ????

Translations

See also

See also

• Wikipedia article on jokers (jesters)
• Wikipedia article on the joker (playing card)
• Wikipedia article on the Joker in Batman

Anagrams

• jerko

Danish

Etymology

From English joker.

Noun

joker

1. joker (playing card)

Declension

Further reading

• “joker” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

From English joker.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?jo?k?r/
• Rhymes: -o?k?r

Noun

joker m (plural jokers, diminutive jokertje n)

1. joker (playing card)
2. any wild card or similar, even in non-card games

Derived terms

• voor joker staan

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.k??/
• (Quebec) IPA^(key): /d?o.kœ?/, [d?o??.kœ?]

Noun

joker m (plural jokers)

1. (card games) joker
2. (computing) wildcard
3. (on a game show) lifeline
4. (Scrabble) blank tile

See also

Further reading

• “joker” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Polish

Alternative forms

• d?oker

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d???.k?r/

Noun

joker m anim

1. (card games) joker

Declension

Portuguese

Noun

joker m (plural jokers)

1. Alternative form of jóquer

See also

Romanian

Etymology

From French joker, English joker.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d??o.k?r/

Noun

joker m (plural jokeri)

1. (card games) joker

Declension

English

Etymology

wild +? card

Noun

wildcard (plural wildcards)

1. (computing) A character that takes the place of any other character or string that is not known or specified.
   • 1968, Digital Equipment Corporation, VAX/VMS 319(5864), page 751, Section 2.1.2 Using Wildcard Characters

     A wildcard character is a symbol that you can use with many DCL commands to apply the command to several files at once, rather than specifying each file individually.

   If the character * is acting as a wildcard, then the pattern a*m matches each of the words amalgam, atom and alum.

2. (also written wild card) An uncontrolled or unpredictable element.
   • 2008 February 8, Eli Kintisch, "From Gasoline Alleys to Electric Avenues" [1], Science 319(5864), page 751

     There are several technical wildcards, such as how the larger battery packs--four times larger than those of the Prius--will withstand the rigors of city driving, […]

3. (also written wild card) An element, often deliberately concealed, which is withheld for contingency.
4. (sports, card games) Alternative form of wild card

Usage notes

A wild card in card games is usually written as two separate words. The computing term is usually written as one compound word.

Translations

Spanish

Noun

wildcard m (plural wildcards)

1. wildcard