Word of the day, 19 September 2025: ‘Lampoon’

Word of the day: LAMPOON

Pronunciaton:  lam·poon   UK/læmˈpuːn/    US/læmˈpuːn/

Meaning

Lampoon refers to a satirical piece of writing, speech, or performance that ridicules or mocks an individual, group, or institution.

Origin and History

The word lampoon originates from the 17th-century French word ‘lampon’

The word entered the English language in the mid-1600s and was used both as a noun, referring to a written attack that ridicules, and as a verb, meaning to criticise publicly through ridicule or mockery.

Examples from literature

• In his comic play The Clouds, Aristophanes, writing in 420 BC, lampooned rhetoric as the art of weak reasoning, “which by false arguments triumphs over the strong.” – Words Like Loaded Pistols by Sam Leith
• This contemporary lithograph lampoons the panicked gentry who fled the city – and thus turned Handel’s new oratorio, Theodora, into a box-office flop. – The Story of Music by Howard Goodall

Synonyms

• Satire
• Parody
• Caricature
• Mockery