caricature

Where does the word "caricature" come from? It comes from Italian caricare, passing through Italian before entering English (1740s).

Caricature’s story begins in Italian: caricare meant “to load.” To load, overload. Within Italian, it grew into caricatura by 1600s. 'an overloading'; the Bolognese painter Annibale Carracci is credited with the art of exaggerated portraits. It reached English by 1740s as caricature. Came via French; William Hogarth and James Gillray made it a British art. Today, caricature means a picture exaggerating a person's features for comic effect.

1. Stage 1 · Italian · medieval caricare "to load", to load, overload.
2. Stage 2 · Italian · 1600s caricatura "exaggerated portrait", 'an overloading'; the Bolognese painter Annibale Carracci is credited with the art of exaggerated portraits.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1740s caricature "comic exaggeration", came via French; William Hogarth and James Gillray made it a British art.