risibilis

Forms

rīsibilis (neuter rīsibile); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin rīdeō (“to laugh”) + -bilis.^[1][2][3] The adjective belongs to Late Latin.^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest dated use is in Eustathius' Latin version of the Hexaemeron (c. 400 AD), in the sense “laughable”: quid his risibilius fieri potest? “what could be more laughable than this?”^[3][5][6] Martianus Capella uses it for the human ability to laugh: unus homo risibilis “man alone can laugh”.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Late Latin used it in two ways, actively of a being that can laugh and passively of what deserves laughter;^[3][7][8] Cassiodorus has the neuter plural for ridiculous ceremonies.^[3][7][8]

Medieval philosophers took over Martianus' definition: homo est risibilis became a stock example in logic, and the neuter risibile was used as a noun for the faculty of laughing.^[4] The word also kept the sense “ludicrous, absurd” and could mean “jocular, comical”.^[4] French, Italian, Spanish and English borrowed it,^[1] English first as “given to laughter” in the 1550s.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 400 AD – Eustathius uses the comparative risibilius “more laughable”.^[3][5][6]
• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus writes of risibilia, ridiculous rites.^[3][7][6]
• 1410 – An Oxford formulary speaks of animals that can laugh.^[4]
• 1550s – English borrows it as risible, from French and directly from Late Latin.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Late Latin) laughable, ridiculous, ludicrous.^[3][7][1]
2. (Late Latin) Able to laugh.^[2][7][1]
3. (Medieval Latin, philosophy, neuter as a noun) The ability to laugh.^[4]
4. (Medieval Latin) jocular, comical.^[4]

Word family

• irrisibilis

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e f Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b Jeanneau, Gérard; Woitrain, Jean-Paul; Hassid, Jean-Claude (2017), Dictionnaire latin-français, online ed., prima-elementa.fr
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com