Other forms: satires
Satire is comedy with teeth, mocking the powerful to expose them. Political satire, a satire on the court, biting satire.
It aims at a target and wants something changed, which is what separates it from comedy in general. Swift's proposal about eating children is the most famous English example, and it is still misread by people who take it straight.
1nounsatireComedy that mocks the powerful to expose them.
“The TV show is a sharp satire on politicians who never answer a straight question.”
satire is a kind of comedy.
Latin satura meant a medley or full dish. The spelling shifted under the influence of the Greek satyr plays.
Latin
satira
Middle French
satire
English, today
satire
Built from
From Middle French satire, from Old French -, from Latin satira, from earlier satura, from lanx satura (“full dish”), from feminine of satur. Altered in Latin by influence of Ancient Greek σάτυρος (“satyr”), on the mistaken notion that the form is related to the Greek σατυρικὸν δράμα (“satyr drama”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA