Where does “farce” come from?

Farce comes from Middle French farce, from Old French farsir meaning "to stuff," from Latin farcio, from Proto-Italic farkjō, from Proto-Indo-European bʰrekʷ-.

farce (English): A style of humor marked by broad improbabilities...

Definitions

  1. A style of humor marked by broad improbabilities...

Ancestry of “farce”, step by step

farce traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle French farce

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchfarcecomic interlude in a mystery play
2Old Frenchfarse—
3Old Frenchfarsir—
4LatinfarcioI cram, stuff
5Proto-Italicfarkjōto stuff
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰrekʷ-to condense; to crowd together

via Middle English farcen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfarcen—
2Old Frenchfarcir—

Words derived from “farce”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰrekʷ- →