irony English · revision 15392

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1502|origins=grc εἴρων}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈaɪə.ɹə.ni/ ''(UK)''; /ˈaɪ.ɹə.ni/, /ˈaɪ.ɚ.ni/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|īrōnīa|t=pretended ignorance; saying the opposite of what one means]], partly through [[frm|ironie]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) from [[grc|εἰρωνεία|tr=eirōneía|t=dissimulation, assumed ignorance]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|grc|εἴρων|tr=eírōn|t=dissembler]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) perhaps related to [[m|grc|εἴρω|tr=eírō|t=to speak]] (see [[word]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Dissimulation or pretence, especially the pretended ignorance of Socrates, Socratic irony, used to expose an opponent; and the figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of the literal: both 1502.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In early use it was often written ''ironia''.^(Etymonline) The figurative sense, a state of affairs opposite to what was expected, as the irony of fate, is from the 1640s (1649).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Dramatic or tragic irony is recorded from 1907.^(OED 1989) Ironical is from 1576 and ironic from 1630.^(Barnhart 1988) Word Origins notes that irony has a gentler origin than [[sarcasm]], with which it is often confused.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1502 – dissimulation; a figure of speech.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1576 – ironical.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1630 – ironic.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1649 – an irony of circumstances.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1907 – dramatic irony.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of their literal sense, often humorously or mildly sarcastically.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A situation or outcome that is the opposite of what was expected: ''the irony is that...''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Dramatic irony: a situation in a play understood by the audience but not by the characters.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ironize]]

+ * [[ironic]]

+ * [[ironical]]

+ * [[ironist]]

+ * [[dramatic irony]]

+ * [[Socratic irony]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ironically]]

+ * [[sarcasm]]

+ * [[word]]

+ * [[verb]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different word irony, of or like iron, is from 1382,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and in Scots dialect meant hard or strong as iron.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}