irony

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈaɪə.ɹə.ni/ (UK); /ˈaɪ.ɹə.ni/, /ˈaɪ.ɚ.ni/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin īrōnīa (“pretended ignorance; saying the opposite of what one means”), partly through Middle French ironie,^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek εἰρωνεία (eirōneía, “dissimulation, assumed ignorance”),^[2][3][5] from εἴρων (eírōn, “dissembler”),^[2][3] perhaps related to εἴρω (eírō, “to speak”) (see word).^[2][3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Dissimulation or pretence, especially the pretended ignorance of Socrates, Socratic irony, used to expose an opponent; and the figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of the literal: both 1502.^[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

In early use it was often written ironia.^[3] The figurative sense, a state of affairs opposite to what was expected, as the irony of fate, is from the 1640s (1649).^[3][7] Dramatic or tragic irony is recorded from 1907.^[7] Ironical is from 1576 and ironic from 1630.^[2] Word Origins notes that irony has a gentler origin than sarcasm, with which it is often confused.^[4]

Timeline

• 1502 – dissimulation; a figure of speech.^[2][7]
• 1576 – ironical.^[2]
• 1630 – ironic.^[2]
• 1649 – an irony of circumstances.^[7]
• 1907 – dramatic irony.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of their literal sense, often humorously or mildly sarcastically.
2. A situation or outcome that is the opposite of what was expected: the irony is that....
3. Dramatic irony: a situation in a play understood by the audience but not by the characters.

Word family

• ironize
• ironic
• ironical
• ironist
• dramatic irony
• Socratic irony

Related words

• ironically
• sarcasm
• word
• verb

Usage notes

A different word irony, of or like iron, is from 1382,^[7][3] and in Scots dialect meant hard or strong as iron.^[8]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)