satire

Meaning

Noun

• A literary device of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. Humor, irony, and exaggeration are often used to aid this.
• A satirical work.
• Severity of remark.

Origin

• From Middle French satire, from Old French, from Latin satira, from earlier satura, from lanx satura, from feminine of satur. Altered in Latin by influence of Ancient Greek σάτυρος, on the mistaken notion that the form is related to the Greek σατυρικόν δράμα.