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sardonicism

 - 3 dictionary results

sar⋅don⋅ic

  [sahr-don-ik]
Use sardonicism in a Sentence
–adjective
characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering: a sardonic grin.
Origin:
1630–40; alter. of earlier sardonian (influenced by F sardonique) < L sardoni(us) (< Gk sardónios of Sardinia) + -an; alluding to a Sardinian plant which when eaten was supposed to produce convulsive laughter ending in death

Related forms:
sar⋅don⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
sar⋅don⋅i⋅cism, noun

Synonyms:
biting, mordant, contemptuous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sar·don·ic   (sär-dŏn'ĭk)   
adj.  Scornfully or cynically mocking. See Synonyms at sarcastic.

[French sardonique, from Greek sardonios, alteration of sardanios.]
sar·don'i·cal·ly adv., sar·don'i·cism (-ĭ-sĭz'əm) n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

sardonic 
1638, from Fr. sardonique (16c.), from L. sardonius (but as if from L. *sardonicus) in Sardonius risus, loan-translation of Gk. sardonios (gelos) "of bitter or scornful (laughter)," altered from Homeric sardanios (of uncertain origin) by influence of Sardonios "Sardinian," because the Greeks believed that eating a certain plant they called sardonion (lit. "plant from Sardinia," see Sardinia) caused facial convulsions resembling those of sardonic laughter, usually followed by death. For nuances of usage, see humor.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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