satir- +

(Latin: poetic medley, satire: the use of irony, sarcasm, or ridicule in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc. )


satire
1. The use of wit, especially irony, sarcasm, and ridicule, to criticize faults.
2. A literary work that uses satire (witty language used to convey insults or scorn); or the branch of literature made up of such works in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit.

The term satire is etymologically a "verse medley", an "assortment of pieces on various subjects". The word comes by way of Old French satire from Latin satira, "mixture", an alteration of an earlier satura.

Satura is said to have been derived from satus, "full" (a relative of satis, "enough", which is the source of the English word, satisfy), and the link in the semantic chain from "full" to "mixture" is "plateful of assorted fruit", the earliest recorded meaning of satura.

By classical times, Latin satira had moved on from being a general literary reference to its now familiar role as a "literary work ridiculing or denouncing people's follies or vices".

By the way, the word satire, coming from satura, has no etymological connection with satyr, "the Greek woodland god" which ultimately comes from Greek saturos.

The meaning of a branch of literature "ridiculing vice or folly" is first recorded in 1589, and that of the use of "sarcasm or irony to ridicule vice or folly" was about 1675.

—Information for this etymological background came from

Dictionary of Word Origins by John Ayto, Arcade Publishing, New York, 1990.
and
The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
by Robert K. Barnhard, Editor; The H.W. Wilson Company; Bronx, New York; 1988.

satiric
Exposing human folly to ridicule.
satirical
1. Containing, or characterized by satire: "He wrote several satirical novels."
2. Indulging in or given to satire: "She was always well known as a satirical poet."
satirically
In a satirical manner in which human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods.
satiricalness
1. Of or pertaining to satire; of the nature of satire; as, a satiric style.
2. Censorious; severe in language; sarcastic; insulting; usually witty, and often very funny.

The purpose of satire is not primarily humor but criticism of an event, an individual, or a group in a clever manner; as is found in many artistic forms of expression, including literature, plays, commentary, and media often used in song lyrics.

satirist, satirists
1. Someone who uses satire; especially, a writer of satirical works.
2. A person who writes or performs satires
satirize, satirise
1. To use satire to show that people or ideas have bad qualities or are wrong.
2. To attack or ridicule with satire; or to lampoon, to ridicule, to laugh at, to make fun of, or to poke fun at someone or something.
satirized, satirised
1. Having used satire to show that people or ideas have bad qualities or are wrong.
2. A humorous way of having criticized people or ideas to show that they had faults or were wrong.

Related "jest; joke; wit; humor; funny" word units: faceti-; farc-; humor-; jocu-; lud-.


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