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Sarcasm - Origins

Sarcasm - Origins: Encyclopedia II - Sarcasm - Origins

The word comes from the late Latin word, sarcasmus, which, in turn, comes from the Greek sarkasmos, from sarkazein - to bite the lips in rage,- from sarx, sark-, flesh - the root word literally means "to cut a piece of flesh (from the targeted person)." It is proverbially described as "the lowest form of wit" (a quotation sometimes ascribed incorrectly to Oscar Wilde, but untraceable). In 1983, Leonard Rossiter published a book titled The Lowest Form of Wit (ISBN 0722175132) which includes the history of sarcasm, rules of sarcasm, and many sarcastic comments (some of which are qu ...

Sarcasm: Encyclopedia II - Sarcasm - Origins

Sarcasm - Origins

The word comes from the late Latin word, sarcasmus, which, in turn, comes from the Greek sarkasmos, from sarkazein - to bite the lips in rage,- from sarx, sark-, flesh - the root word literally means "to cut a piece of flesh (from the targeted person)."

It is proverbially described as "the lowest form of wit" (a quotation sometimes ascribed incorrectly to Oscar Wilde, but untraceable). In 1983, Leonard Rossiter published a book titled The Lowest Form of Wit (ISBN 0722175132) which includes the history of sarcasm, rules of sarcasm, and many sarcastic comments (some of which are questionable) by notable individuals.