Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sarcasm” come from?

Sarcasm comes from Latin sarcasmus, from Ancient Greek σαρκασμός, derived from the verb σαρκάζειν meaning to tear flesh, ultimately from Ancient Greek σάρξ meaning flesh, traced to Proto-Indo-European twerḱ-.

sarcasm (English): Use of acerbic language to mock or convey...

Definitions

  1. Use of acerbic language to mock or convey...

Ancestry of “sarcasm”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchsarcasmesarcasm
2Latinsarcasmussarcasm
3Ancient Greekσαρκασμόςbitter irony; sarcasm
4Ancient Greek-μόςForms abstract nouns
5Proto-Indo-European-mósCreates action/result nouns from verb stems

Words derived from “sarcasm”

  • orgasmic
  • multiorgasmic
  • orgasmically
  • preorgasmic
  • nonorgasmic
  • postorgasmic
  • anorgasmic
  • sarcasmous
  • suborgasmic
  • unorgasmic
  • multiorgasmically
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -mós →