ridiculous English · revision 5169

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1540s|origins=la ridiculus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /rɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/, /rəˈdɪk.jə.ləs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is from [[la|ridiculus|t=laughable]] or ridiculōsus,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) from ridēre “to laugh”.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)^(MWU 2024) It is related to [[ridicule]], [[deride]] and [[risible]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Deserving ridicule, absurd: the 1540s in Etymonline, as ridyculouse, and 1550 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Shakespeare and other 17th-century writers sometimes spelled it rediculous.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the 18th century the sense was weakening toward “comically absurd”.^(Etymonline) In dialect and in the American South it meant “outrageous, scandalous” from 1839;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Halliwell in 1852 said it was used in some counties of very indecent behaviour.^(Etymonline)^(Wright 1898) The slang sense “excellent” is by 1959, in jazz slang.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1540s – deserving ridicule.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1839 – dialect, outrageous.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1959 – slang, excellent.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Very silly or unreasonable; [[absurd]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ridiculously]]

+ * [[ridiculousness]]

+ * [[unridiculous]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[deride]]

+ * [[derision]]

+ * [[ridicule]]

+ * [[risible]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}