comedy (English)
Where does "comedy" come from?
The word comedy stems from the Ancient Greek 'kōmōidía', a compound formed by combining 'kômos', meaning a revelry, with a word for song. This term traveled through Latin and Middle French before arriving in English as 'comedie'. Originally rooted in the celebration of communal carousing, the word evolved to encompass lighthearted plays and the broader genre of humorous performance we recognize today.
Full etymology tree
- comedy (English), 'a choric song of celebration or revel, especially in Ancient Greece'
- inherited comedie (Middle English)
- borrowed comedie (Middle French), 'comedy'
- inherited cōmoedia (Latin), 'A comedy (play)'
- derived κωμῳδία (kōmōidía) (Ancient Greek), 'comedy'
- compound κῶμος (kômos) (Ancient Greek), 'festival, procession, revel, carousal'
- compound ᾠδή (ōidḗ) (Ancient Greek), 'the art of singing'
- inherited ᾰ̓οιδή (ăoidḗ) (Ancient Greek)
- derived ᾰ̓είδω (ăeídō) (Ancient Greek)
- inherited *awéidō (Proto-Hellenic), 'to sing'
- derived ᾰ̓είδω (ăeídō) (Ancient Greek)
- inherited ᾰ̓οιδή (ăoidḗ) (Ancient Greek)
- derived κωμῳδία (kōmōidía) (Ancient Greek), 'comedy'
- inherited cōmoedia (Latin), 'A comedy (play)'
- borrowed comedie (Middle French), 'comedy'
- inherited comedie (Middle English)
Direct ancestors
- ḱens- (Proto-Indo-European)
- comedie (Middle French)
- comoedia (Latin)
- κωμῳδία (Ancient Greek)
- commedia (English)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris