Etymologically
Log in

irrideo

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word irrideo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (rīdeō)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪrˈriː.de.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [irˈriː.de.o][1]

Forms

irrīdeō (present infinitive irrīdēre, perfect active irrīsī, supine irrīsum); second conjugation[1] It is also spelled inrīdeō,[2] which the manuscripts have more often than irr-;[3] Marcus Brutus has a form irrīdō.[4] Caecilius has the old passive infinitive inrīdier.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from in- (“at, against”) and rīdeō (“to laugh”).[2][3][1] De Vaan finds no good Indo-European etymology for ⟨rīdeō⟩ and calls the old link with Sanskrit व्रीडते (vrīḍate, “is shy”) gratuitous in meaning.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from Plautus,[3] who has “I will be laughed at all over town” in the Captivi.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to laugh at, mock or make fun of people, and of things, as Plautus' “I would much rather be praised than have others mock my looks”;[2][4] Cicero has the Stoics who laugh because we think such things shameful.[2][4] Used absolutely it is to jest or jeer, as Plautus' “you rascal, are you laughing?” and Terence's “you jest in so serious a matter”.[2][4] It is also to have the laugh on someone or make a fool of him, as Plautus' “he will never make a fool of me”.[2][1]

Church Latin glosses it “mock, laugh at”.[6] Döderlein says that rīdēre is a joyful and moderate laugh, against cachinnārī, loud unrestrained laughter.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of being laughed at.[2][8]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence of joking about serious things.[4][8]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the mocking Stoics.[2][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To laugh at, mock, ridicule.[2][4][1][6]
  2. (absolute) To jest, jeer.[2][4][1]
  3. To make a fool of.[2][1]

Word family

  • irrīsiō
  • irrīsor
  • irrīsus
  • irrīdenter
  • irrīdiculum
  • irrīsibilis
  • irrīsīvē

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Irrideo.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/irrideo. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·