sardonic
Pronunciation
- IPA: /sɑːˈdɒnɪk/ (UK); /sɑɹˈdɑnɪk/ (US)[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from French sardonique,[2][3][4][5][6] from Latin sardonius, as in sardonius risus,[4][6] from Greek sardónios “of bitter or scornful laughter”,[2][3][4][5] an alteration of Homeric sardánios,[2][3][4] a word of uncertain origin.[4] The Greeks connected it with Sardónios “Sardinian”, believing that a Sardinian plant caused facial convulsions like bitter laughter,[3][4][6] usually followed by death.[4][6]
Earliest recorded meaning
Of laughter or a smile, bitter, scornful and mocking (1638).[7][3][5]
Semantic evolution
An earlier form was sardonian (1580s).[4][6] The word first described laughter that only seemed to come from gaiety,[4] and was applied to persons, “bitterly ironical”, by 1833.[4] In medicine it described a convulsive grin (1822–29).[7]
Timeline
- 1580s – sardonian.[4][6]
- 1638 – of laughter, bitter and mocking.[7][3][5]
- 1822–29 – in medicine, a convulsive grin.[7]
- 1833 – of persons, bitterly ironical.[4]
Modern meaning
Adjective
- Scornfully or cynically mocking; sarcastic or sneering.
Word family
- sardonically
- sardonicism
Usage notes
Random House gives biting, mordant and contemptuous as synonyms.[6]
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e f g Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
- ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press