charade

Where does the word "charade" come from? It comes from Occitan charrado, passing through French before entering English (1770s).

Charade’s story begins in Occitan: charrado meant “chatter.” Chatter, idle talk. By 1700s, the word had taken hold in French as charade. A riddle game, first written, later acted out. It reached English by 1770s as charade. Acted charades became a favourite Victorian parlour game; 'a charade' as a pretence dates from the 1900s. Today, charade means a game of acting out words for others to guess.

1. Stage 1 · Occitan · 1700s charrado "chatter", chatter, idle talk.
2. Stage 2 · French · 1700s charade "word riddle", a riddle game, first written, later acted out.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1770s charade "guessing game", acted charades became a favourite Victorian parlour game; 'a charade' as a pretence dates from the 1900s.