Etymologically
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sardonique

Etymology and origin of the French word sardonique

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1560, Ambroise Paré
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (σαρδόνιος)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French sardonique
English sardonic

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /saʁ.dɔ.nik/[1]

Forms

sardonique (plural sardoniques)[1] Ris sardonien (1558, Du Bellay), ris sardonic (Paré), sardonique (1660, Oudin).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It takes up Latin sardonicus (“sardonic”) (“sardonicus risus”), a calque of Ancient Greek σαρδόνιος (sardónios) or “sardanios” (“sardonios gelōs”) “malicious laughter”,[2][3][5] interpreted as “of Sardinia”, since the laugh was thought to be caused by a Sardinian herb, Latin “sardonia herba”, a kind of ranunculus.[2][3][6] The Grand Robert and Petit Robert call the Greek word's origin unknown.[4][7] “Sardonien” was formed on “sardonius”, “sardonique” is borrowed from Greek “sardonikos” or remade on the French adjectives in “-ique”.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Paré (1579) explains that Apium risus or Sardonia makes people mad, with a convulsion that draws back the lips so that the patient seems to laugh, “whence the proverb ris sardonien, for an unhappy and deadly laugh”.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Rire sardonique was first a medical term for a grimace like a laugh, due to spasms of the facial muscles.[3][7] Under the influence of sarcastique it came to describe a laugh of bitter mockery (ris sardonique, before 1754, Destouches, Académie, 1762), and then anything showing a wicked intention (Rousseau's souris sardonique, about 1770, Stendhal's air sardonique, 1842).[3][2][6] Sardoniquement is rare (1845).[3]

Timeline

  • 1558 – Ris sardonien in Du Bellay.[2]
  • 1579 – Ris sardonic in Paré.[2]
  • 1660 – Sardonique in Oudin.[2]
  • Before 1754 – Mocking, in Destouches.[6]
  • c. 1770 – In Rousseau's Confessions.[6]
  • 1845 – Sardoniquement.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Sardonic, bitterly mocking: un rire sardonique.[7][8]
  2. (medicine) Rire sardonique: risus sardonicus, a convulsive grin.[7][3]

Word family

  • sardoniquement
  • sardonie
  • sardine
  • sardoine
  • Ancient Greek σαρδόνιος (sardónios)

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Sardonique.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/sardonique. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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