satire

Where does the word "satire" come from? It comes from Latin satura, and was adopted directly into English (1500s).

Satire’s story begins in Latin: satura meant “a mixed dish, a medley.” Literally a mixed dish, a medley, describing an early poetic form mixing many subjects. It reached English by 1500s as satire. Settled as the English word for using humor or exaggeration to criticize. Today, satire means the use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize people's vices or folly.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient satura "a mixed dish, a medley", literally a mixed dish, a medley, describing an early poetic form mixing many subjects.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1500s satire "the use of humor or exaggeration to criticize folly or vice", settled as the English word for using humor or exaggeration to criticize.