Other forms: witticisms
A witticism is a clever and amusing remark. An easy witticism.
It is short by definition, since anything long enough to explain has stopped being one. The word was coined by Dryden in the 1670s on the model of criticism.
1nounwitticismA clever and amusing remark.
“One witticism at the right moment saved the whole speech.”
witticism is a remark.
Coined by John Dryden from witty, on the model of criticism.
Proto-Indo-European
*weyd-
Proto-Germanic
*witagaz
Proto-West Germanic
*witīg
Old English
wittiġ
Middle English
witty
English
witty
English, today
witticism
Built from
From witty + icism; coined in the 1670s by John Dryden, by analogy to criticism. witty comes from Middle English witty, witti, from Old English wittiġ, witiġ, ġewittiġ (“clever, wise”), from Proto-West Germanic witīg, witag, from Proto-Germanic witagaz, wītagaz (“knowing, wise, clever”), equivalent to wit + -y. Cognate with Middle Low German wittich, gewittich (“knowing, clever, wise, understanding”), German witzig (“funny, witty”), Norwegian Bokmål vettig, Norwegian Nynorsk vittig (“witty”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA