sardonique French · revision 16013

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1560, Ambroise Paré|origins=grc σαρδόνιος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /saʁ.dɔ.nik/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sardonique''' (plural sardoniques)^(Wiktionary)

+ ''Ris sardonien'' (1558, Du Bellay), ''ris sardonic'' (Paré), ''sardonique'' (1660, Oudin).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It takes up [[la|sardonicus|t=sardonic]] (“sardonicus risus”), a calque of [[grc|σαρδόνιος|tr=sardónios]] or “sardanios” (“sardonios gelōs”) “malicious laughter”,^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) interpreted as “of Sardinia”, since the laugh was thought to be caused by a Sardinian herb, Latin “sardonia herba”, a kind of ranunculus.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) The Grand Robert and Petit Robert call the Greek word's origin unknown.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007) “Sardonien” was formed on “sardonius”, “sardonique” is borrowed from Greek “sardonikos” or remade on the French adjectives in “-ique”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Paré (1579) explains that ''Apium risus'' or ''Sardonia'' makes people mad, with a convulsion that draws back the lips so that the patient seems to laugh, “whence the proverb ''ris sardonien'', for an unhappy and deadly laugh”.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Rire sardonique'' was first a medical term for a grimace like a laugh, due to spasms of the facial muscles.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) Under the influence of ''sarcastique'' it came to describe a laugh of bitter mockery (''ris sardonique'', before 1754, Destouches, Académie, 1762), and then anything showing a wicked intention (Rousseau's ''souris sardonique'', about 1770, Stendhal's ''air sardonique'', 1842).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) ''Sardoniquement'' is rare (1845).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1558 – ''Ris sardonien'' in Du Bellay.^(TLFi)

+ * 1579 – ''Ris sardonic'' in Paré.^(TLFi)

+ * 1660 – ''Sardonique'' in Oudin.^(TLFi)

+ * Before 1754 – Mocking, in Destouches.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * c. 1770 – In Rousseau's ''Confessions''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1845 – ''Sardoniquement''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|sardonic|alt=Sardonic]], bitterly mocking: ''un rire sardonique''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(medicine)'' ''Rire sardonique'': risus sardonicus, a convulsive grin.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sardoniquement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sardonie]]

+ * [[sardine]]

+ * [[sardoine]]

+ * [[grc|σαρδόνιος|tr=sardónios]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}