Farce
/fɑːrs/noun
A comic dramatic work marked by exaggerated, improbable situations; also, something absurdly fake or ridiculous.
Did you know?Farce comes from the same Latin root as French culinary stuffing, and medieval scribes used the word for ‘filling in’ text before it became a name for over-the-top comedy.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dʰer-
“to hold, support, or keep in place”
Latin
Latin
farcīre
“to stuff, cram, fill”
Late Latin
Latin
farsum
“stuffing; something stuffed in”
Old French
Old French
farce
“stuffing; a comic interpolation in a play”
Middle English
English
farce
“a comic addition or interlude in drama”
Modern English
English
farce
“a ridiculous or absurd comedy; an empty sham”
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