Etymologically
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sarcasmus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [sarˈkas.mʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [sarˈkaz.mus][1]

Forms

sarcasmus m (genitive sarcasmī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek σαρκασμός (sarkasmós, “grim scorn”),[2][1][3] from σαρκάζω (sarkázō, “to mock bitterly”).[4][3] Etymonline takes the verb literally as “to strip off the flesh”, from σάρξ (sárx, “flesh”);[3] Beekes finds that connection the most obvious, but not yet convincingly argued.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a term of the Late Latin grammarians: Charisius and Diomedes list it as a figure of speech.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Latin kept it as a technical term of rhetoric.[2][1] English took it over in its Latin form sarcasmus in the 1570s, for a biting taunt or gibe; the form sarcasm appears in the 1610s.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 362 AD – Charisius names it among the figures of speech.[2][5]
  • second half of the 4th century AD – Diomedes does the same.[2][5]
  • 1570s – English borrows it as sarcasmus.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Late Latin, rhetoric) Sarcasm, a bitter taunt.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de