tragic
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Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈtɹæd͡ʒɪk/[1]
Etymology
It is a shortening of earlier tragical (1489, Caxton),[2][3] modelled on Latin tragicus (“of tragedy”) and partly through French tragique,[3][2][4] from Greek τραγικός (tragikós, “of tragedy; literally of a goat”),[3][2][5] from trágos, he-goat, perhaps referring to a satyr played by a goat-singer, and associated with tragōidía, tragedy.[3][2][4]
Earliest recorded meaning
Calamitous, disastrous, fatal, resembling the conclusion of a stage tragedy: 1545 (the 1540s).[2][6][3] MWU dates it to the 15th century.[5]
Semantic evolution
Of or pertaining to tragedy as drama is from 1563 (the 1560s),[6][3] and expressing fatal or dreadful events from 1593.[6] Befitting the style of tragedy is from 1684.[6] Tragic flaw, translating Greek hamartia, is from 1913.[3][6]
Timeline
Modern meaning
Adjective
- Causing great sadness, involving death or disaster: a tragic accident.
- Of or relating to tragedy as a form of drama.
- Mournful or pitiable.
Word family
- tragically
- tragicalness
- nontragic
- supertragic
- untragic
- tragic flaw
Related words
- tragicomic
- tragical
- tragedy
- tragicomedy
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press