Etymograph

English

satire

Satire comes from Latin satira, and goes back to lanx ‘full dish’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElanx1‘full dish’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsatira1
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600satire1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1898satire1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English satire
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1898, George Bernard Shaw: “CAESAR. No, by the gods! would that it had…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElanxWiktionary, English satire‘full dish’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsatiraWiktionary, English satire
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600satireWiktionary, English satire
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1898satireWiktionary, English satire. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1898, George Bernard Shaw: “CAESAR. No, by the gods! would that it had…”

The story

Altered in Latin by influence of Ancient Greek σάτυρος (sáturos, “satyr”), on the mistaken notion that the form is related to the Greek σατυρικὸν δράμα (saturikòn dráma, “satyr drama”).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Latin lanx ‘full dish’

balance, 1 more

Today it means

noun A literary device of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change or highlighting a shortcoming in the work of another. Imitation, humor, irony, and exaggeration are often used to aid this.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “satire”. 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 lanx / satire

Shirt and support for this word