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SARCASM

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Originally appearing in Volume V24, Page 208 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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SARCASM , an ironical or sneering remark or taunt, a biting or satirical expression. The word comes through the Latin from the See also:

Greek aapt av, literally to See also:

TEAR

tear flesh (aapE) like a See also:

dog; hence, figuratively, to bite the lips in rage, to speak bitterly (cf. See also:

STOBAEUS, JOANNES

Stobaeus, Eclog. ii. 222). The See also:

ETYMOLOGY (Gr. grvµos, true, and X6yos, "account)

etymology of this may be paralleled by the See also:

ENGLISH

English " sneer," from See also:

Dan. snarre, to grin like a dog, cognate with " snarl," to make a rattling r See also:

sound in the See also:

THROAT (O. Eng. protu, prote or }Prota, possibly from preotan, to press, whence threat, or, with loss of initial s, connected with strut, to swell)

throat, Ger. schnarren, and possibly also by " sardonic." This latter word appears in Greek in the See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form oap&avios, always in the sense of See also:

BITTER, KARL THEODORE FRANCIS (1867– )

bitter or scornful See also:

LAUGHTER

laughter, in such phrases as aapMviov yeXav, 'See also:

YAWS

yaws actpMvtos and the like. It is probably connected with aatpew, to draw back, i.e. the lips, like a dog, but was usually explained (by the See also:

early scholiasts and commentators) as referring to a Sardinian plant (See also:

RANUNCULUS

Ranunculus Sardous), whose bitter See also:

TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

taste screwed up the mouth. Thus, later Greek writers wrote Eap&iv1ov, and it was adopted into Latin; cf. Servius on Virg. Ed. vii.

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