ridiculus

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Latin

Etymology

From rīdeō (“laugh; mock”) +‎ -icus (“-ish”) +‎ -ulus (diminutive).

Pronunciation

Adjective

rīdiculus (feminine rīdicula, neuter rīdiculum, superlative rīdiculissimus, adverb rīdiculē); first/second-declension adjective

  1. (good, in the context of humor) laughable, funny, amusing, humorous
  2. (bad, as a disparagement) laughable, silly, absurd, ridiculous
    • 166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 711–712:
      CHARĪNUS: Dāve, attamen… DĀVUS: Quid, ergō? / CHARĪNUS: Ut dūcam. DĀVUS: Rīdiculum!
      CHARINUS: Davus, but still… DAVUS: What, then? CHARINUS: I want to marry . DAVUS: absurd!
      (In its full context, Charinus wants to marry a woman who is already engaged to another man.)
    • Quintus Horatius Flaccus, Epistula ad Pisones or Ars Poetica 137–139:
      “Fortūnam Priamī cantābō et nōbile bellum.”
      Quid dignum tantō feret hic prōmissor hiātū?
      Parturient montēs, nāscētur rīdiculus mūs.
      “I will sing the fate of Priam and the noble war.” what most worthy will this promising bring forth from such a gaping mouth? Mountains will labor, and a ridiculous mouse will be born.
      (That is to say, striving beyond one’s meager ability may produce disappointing results.)

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

singular plural
masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
nominative rīdiculus rīdicula rīdiculum rīdiculī rīdiculae rīdicula
genitive rīdiculī rīdiculae rīdiculī rīdiculōrum rīdiculārum rīdiculōrum
dative rīdiculō rīdiculae rīdiculō rīdiculīs
accusative rīdiculum rīdiculam rīdiculum rīdiculōs rīdiculās rīdicula
ablative rīdiculō rīdiculā rīdiculō rīdiculīs
vocative rīdicule rīdicula rīdiculum rīdiculī rīdiculae rīdicula

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

References

  • “ridiculus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “ridiculus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • ridiculus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • to make a joke of a thing: aliquid ad ridiculum convertere
    • a wit; a joker: (homo) ridiculus (Plaut. Stich. 1. 3. 21)
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