- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Borrowing
- First attested
- Plautus
- Borrowed from
- Ancient Greek τραγικοκωμῳδία
- Ultimate origin
- Ancient Greek (τραγικοκωμῳδία)
Forms
tragicōmoedia f (genitive tragicōmoediae); first declension[1] The manuscripts have tragicocōmoedia.[2][3]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Ancient Greek τραγικοκωμῳδία (tragikokōmōidía), with haplology; by surface analysis, tragicus “tragic” and cōmoedia “comedy”.[1][2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Plautus coins it in the prologue of the Amphitruo for that play.[3][4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]
Semantic evolution
It meant a play combining elements of tragedy and comedy.[2][3]
Timeline
Meanings
Noun
Related words
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Related etymologies
- olea · also from Greek
- calamus · also from Greek
- politia · also from Greek
- athleticus · also from Greek
- archetypum · also from Greek
- apathia · also from Greek
- amnestia · also from Greek
- academicus · also from Greek
Cite this entry
“Tragicomoedia.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/tragicomoedia. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.
Last edited on . ·