Etymologically
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deridiculum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deː.riːˈdɪ.kʊ.ɫũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [de.riˈdiː.ku.lum][1]

Forms

dērīdiculum n (genitive dērīdiculī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dērīdiculus (“very laughable”), its neuter used as a noun.[2][1][3] That adjective is formed from dērīdeō (“to laugh at, mock”),[3][4][5] a compound of dē- and rīdeō (“to laugh”); de Vaan finds no good Indo-European etymology for the simple verb.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Plautus,[5][6] whose Amphitruo has quid tū mē dērīdiculī grātiā sīc salūtās?, “why do you greet me like this, in mockery?”.[3][7][8]

Semantic evolution

It meant both mockery itself and an object of mockery.[3][4] Terence has prō dērīdiculō ac dēlectāmentō putāre, to treat someone as a butt of mockery and amusement,[4] and the phrases dērīdiculō esse and dērīdiculō habērī, to be a laughing-stock, are found in Plautus, Tacitus and Apuleius.[4][3][7] Tacitus also uses it of a grotesque bodily deformity,[3][7][8] and Quintilian has the plural for absurdities.[3][4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses dērīdiculī grātiā, in mockery.[3][7][5]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus has dērīdiculō esse and uses it of a deformity.[3][7][5]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius has dērīdiculō habērī.[3][4][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Mockery, ridicule.[3][4][7]
  2. A ridiculous thing or quality, an absurdity; an object of derision.[2][3]
  3. A grotesque deformity.[3][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier