Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd
seriocomic was our Word of the Day on 10/04/2012. Hear the podcast!
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Did You Know?
Seriocomic may have a modern ring to it, but our earliest evidence of the word in print is from 1783. Another "comic" word-heroicomic, meaning "comic by being ludicrously noble, bold, or elevated"-is slightly older; evidence of it dates to 1756. Both words are about a century younger than our third "comic" word, "tragicomic" ("manifesting both tragic and comic aspects"), which print evidence dates to 1683. (Evidence of the variant "tragicomical," however, dates all the way back to 1567.)
Origin and Etymology of seriocomic
serious + -o- + comic
First Known Use: 1783
Other Literature Terms
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