Witticism from Jack, Oriental holy man (4)
I believe the answer is:
jest
'witticism' is the definition.
(jest is a kind of witticism)
'jack oriental holy man' is the wordplay.
'jack' becomes 'j' (playing card abbreviation).
'oriental' becomes 'e'.
'holy man' becomes 'st'.
'j'+'e'+'st'='JEST'
'from' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for jest that I've seen before include "Banter, joke" , "` `Many a true word is spoken in . . . .' '" , "Quip" , "fun" , "Witty remark" .)