English
irrision
Irrision comes from Latin irrīsiō ‘derision, mockery’, from irrideō ‘to laugh at’, and ultimately from rīdeō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErīdeō1‘laugh’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEirrideō2as irrīdēre‘to laugh at’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEirrīsiō2‘derision, mockery’
- Englishearliest quotation 1630irrision2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin irrideo
- 2 Wiktionary, English irrision
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1630, John Donne: “From thence he was carried back to Jerusalem, first…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErīdeōWiktionary, Latin irrideo‘laugh’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEirrideōWiktionary, English irrisionas irrīdēre‘to laugh at’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEirrīsiōWiktionary, English irrision‘derision, mockery’
- Englishearliest quotation 1630irrisionWiktionary, English irrision. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1630, John Donne: “From thence he was carried back to Jerusalem, first…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn, to rotate, spin’
word, university, worth, weird, universe, version, conversation, divorce, versus, diverse, verse, diversity, vertical, advertisement, versatile, vortex, advert, divert, convertible, revert, pervert, adversity, vertex, vertigo, avert, vert, diversification, verso, wurst, perversity, 71 more
through Latin rīdeō ‘laugh’
Today it means
noun The act of laughing at another; derision.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “irrision”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin irrideo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin rīdeō / irrision