Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Comedy |
ComedyNoun1. Light and humorous drama with a happy ending. 2. A comic incident or series of incidents. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "comedy" was first used: sometime around 1385. (references) |
Etymology: Comedy \Com"e*dy\, noun; plural Comedies. [French com['e]die, Latin comoedia, from Greek jovial festivity with music and dancing, a festal procession, an ode sung at this procession (perh. akin to ? village, English home) to sing; for comedy was originally of a ly. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of being at a light play, denotes that foolish and short-lived pleasures will be indulged in by the dreamer. To dream of seeing a comedy, is significant of light pleasures and pleasant tasks. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Literature | Comedy means a village-song (Greek, Kome-ode), referring to the village merry-makings, in which comic songs still take a conspicuous place. The Greeks had certain festal processions of great licentiousness, held in honour of Dionysos, in the suburbs of their cities, and termed komoi or village-revels. On these occasions an ode was generally sung, and this ode was the foundation of Greek comedy. (See Tragedy .) The Father of comedy. Aristophanës, the Athenian ( B.C. 444-380). Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Comedy to start with was any play that ended happily such as in Shakespeare. It is now considered a (maybe so-called) humorous performance in the performing arts such as theater/theatre (including stand-up) television and film. People are divided about what is funny-some people prefer the slapstick approach, others prefer a gentler sort of humour. One interpretation of comedy is when things seem normal (in a joke for instance) and suddenly things get turned on their head.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Comedy."
Synonyms: ComedySynonyms: clowning (n), drollery (n), funniness (n). (additional references) |
| Antonym: tragedy (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Ridiculousness | Farce, comedy; burlesque; (ridicule); buffoonery; (fun); frippery; doggerel verses; absurdity; bombast; (unmeaning); anticlimax, bathos; eccentricity, monstrosity; (unconformity); laughingstock. |
The Drama | Play, drama, stage play, piece, five-act play, tragedy, comedy, opera, vaudeville, comedietta, lever de rideau, interlude, afterpiece, exode, farce, divertissement, extravaganza, burletta, harlequinade, pantomime, burlesque, opera bouffe, ballet, spectacle, masque, drame comedie drame; melodrama, melodrame; comidie larmoyante, sensation drama; tragicomedy, farcical-comedy; monodrame monologue;duologue trilogy; charade, proverbs; mystery, miracle play; musical, musical comedy. |
Light comedy, genteel comedy, low comedy. | |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | I guess that's the way the whole durned human comedy keeps perpetuatin' itself (The Big Lebowski; writing credit: Ethan Coen; Joel Coen) It is not a comedy I'm writing now. (Shakespeare in Love; writing credit: Marc Norman; Tom Stoppard) I understand you're pretty funny as a dee-jay and, well, comedy is kind of a hobby of mine (Good Morning, Vietnam; writing credit: Mitch Markowitz) And there's nothing in the Scriptures to say that he did not. Why, even the saints have been known to employ comedy, to ridicule the enemies of the Faith (Name der Rose, Der; writing credit: Andrew Birkin; Gérard Brach) Oh wow, I can't believe my first passenger is comedy legend Mel Brooks (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge) | |
Lyrics | I says the comedy is that it's serious (The Remedy (I Won't Worry); performing artist: JASON MRAZ) Five years old, bringing comedy (Just the Two of Us; performing artist: Will Smith) | |
Clever | Tragedy is if I cut my finger, comedy is if I walk into an open sewer and die. (references; author: Mel Brooks) Life is a comedy for those who think, and a tragedy for those who feel. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Heavy Metal Comedy (2002) The Dean Martin Comedy World (1974) Half the George Kirby Comedy Hour (1972) Comedy Bag (1972) The John Byner Comedy Hour (1972) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books | |||
Theater & Movies |
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Music |
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High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Vaudeville, musical comedy and circus units of W.P.A. by Harry Hopkins. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | That not so comic character : no time for comedy. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Mack Sennett comedy films--man in Santa Claus costume standing between two young women in front of Christmas tree. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Maria Conesa, Mexico's most popular musical comedy star, dressed in charro costume, her sombrero done in silver. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Center of action in "The Night before Christmas," opening Thursday. Forrest Orr, George Matthews, Louis Sorin and Phyllis Brooks are involved in the daffy proceedings. The comedy, by Laura and S.J. Perelman, is concerned with larceny. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Chas. E. Blaney's latest musical comedy sucess, A hired girl. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Charles Frohman presents Miss Maude Adams in a new comedy, The little minister by J.M. Barrie. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Clifford and Huth in John J. McNally's funniest farce comedy, Courted into court. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Burrill Comedy Co. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Coon Cons Coyote : an Indian "X-rated" comedy directed by Hanay Geiogamah. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Barry Farber | In a Russian tragedy, everybody dies. In a Russian comedy, everybody dies, too. But they die happy. |
Christopher Fry | Comedy is an escape, not from truth but from despair; a narrow escape into faith. |
Elbert Hubbard | One can play comedy, two are required for melodrama, but a tragedy demands three. |
Horace Walpole | The world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel. |
| Life is a comedy for those who think... and a tragedy for those who feel. | |
| This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel. | |
Ludwig Van Beethoven | Friends applaud, the comedy is over. |
| Applaud friends, the comedy is over. | |
Peter Ustinov | Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | His gamut slides merrily from high comedy to farce |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Carol Burnett | I think comedy is a serious business, and I think it's probably easier for comedians to do it than the other way around, than for dramatic actors to do comedy. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Comedy" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.44% of the time. "Comedy" is used about 1,435 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.44% | 1,427 | 5,638 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.56% | 8 | 124,375 |
| Total | 100.00% | 1,435 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "comedy": Black comedy ♦ comedy actor ♦ comedy ballet ♦ comedy writer ♦ drawing room comedy ♦ farce comedy ♦ farcical comedy ♦ genteel comedy ♦ high comedy ♦ light comedy ♦ low comedy ♦ musical comedy ♦ silent comedy ♦ situation comedy ♦ slap comedy ♦ slapstick comedy ♦ tragi comedy. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "comedy": comedy-ballets, comedy-drama, comedy-even, comedy-lovers, comedy-music, comedy-pop-and-hobbies, comedy-thriller, comedy-thrillers, comedy-writer. | |
Ending with "comedy": tragi-comedy. | |
Containing "comedy": fantasy-comedy-drama. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
comedy | 5,302 | the improv comedy club | 141 |
comedy central | 4,296 | comedy tragedy mask | 126 |
comedy movie | 1,351 | boston comedy connection | 122 |
comedy club | 747 | boston comedy club | 109 |
comedy show | 736 | comedy skits | 105 |
comedy video | 721 | rascal comedy club | 104 |
comedy dvd | 664 | comedy radio | 100 |
divine comedy | 602 | acme club comedy | 100 |
comedy central.com | 379 | cellar comedy | 96 |
stand up comedy | 250 | british comedy | 91 |
blue collar comedy tour | 227 | 1970 comedy wheres | 91 |
carolines club comedy | 221 | improv comedy | 84 |
comedy connection | 211 | christian comedy free skits | 82 |
comedy monologue | 204 | def comedy jam | 73 |
comedy network | 180 | romantic comedy | 70 |
funny bone comedy club | 177 | tv comedy | 70 |
the comedy channel | 170 | club comedy nyc | 69 |
comedy store | 144 | central com comedy | 68 |
comedy zone | 142 | club comedy houston | 67 |
new york comedy club | 142 | comedy free skits | 67 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "comedy"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | komedie. (various references) | |
Albanian | ngjarje komike, komedi. (various references) | |
Arabic | كوميديا هزلية, كوميديا, مهزلة (farce), ملهاة, مسرحية هزلية (farce, jape, skit), حادثة مضحكة. (various references) | |
Basque | komedia. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | комедия (act, farce, interlude, riot, sock). (various references) | |
Chinese | 喜劇 , 喜剧 (Comedies). (various references) | |
Czech | veselohra, komedie. (various references) | |
Danish | komedie. (various references) | |
Dutch | komedie. (various references) | |
Esperanto | komedio. (various references) | |
Farsi | نمایش خنده دار, کمدی , شادنمایش . (various references) | |
Finnish | huvinäytelmä, hupailu (farce). (various references) | |
French | comedie, comédie. (various references) | |
Frisian | komeedzje. (various references) | |
German | lustspiel, komödie (farce, play-acting). (various references) | |
Greek | κωμωδία (farce). (various references) | |
Hebrew | קומ"י". (various references) | |
Hungarian | vígjáték, komédia (farce, it is mere acting, masquerade). (various references) | |
Indonesian | sandiwara lucu. (various references) | |
Italian | commedia (act, sham). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 喜劇 (funny show), 喜劇 (funny show), 戯け芝居 (burlesque), コミュニケーション科学基礎 "究所 (choral, collaboration, collaborative, collaborator, collage, collagen, collie, column, columnist, COM, COMECON, comedian, comet, Cominform, comment, commentator, comment-out, committee, common, common carrier, common language, common sense, Commonwealth Day, communicate, Communication Science Laboratories, communications intelligence, communications satellite, communicator, communism, communist, Communist Information Bureau, community, community care, community center, community college, community media, community paper, community school, community sports, computer output microfilm system, comsat, corrida, corundum, Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, Komintern, Komsomol, Korea, operator in a telemarketing business, stand-alone feature article framed by a box), 三枚 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | おどけしばい (burlesque), き'き (funny show), さ"まい (absorption, concentration, self-effacement), コメディー (committee). (various references) | |
Korean | 희극 (Comedies, Comic). (various references) | |
Manx | cloie aitt (farce). (various references) | |
Occitan | comedia. (various references) | |
Papiamen | komedia (play, theatre play). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | omedycay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | comédia. (various references) | |
Romanian | comedie (device, drollery, farce, sham, sock, trick). (various references) | |
Russian | комедия (low comedy). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | komedija. (various references) | |
Spanish | comedia (playacting, theatre). (various references) | |
Swedish | komedi (Mummery), lustspel. (various references) | |
Turkish | komik olaylar, komedi (comic), komedí, güldürü (humor, humour). (various references) | |
Turkmen | komediяa (r). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | удавання (acting, affectation, affectedness, assumption, dissimulation, feint, hypocrisy, make believe, pose, pretension, sham, simulation), комедія, потішна подія. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | kịch vui (vaudeville). (various references) | |
Welsh | comedi. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | komoidia. (various references) |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | soccho. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words ending with "comedy": tragicomedy. (additional references) | |
| |
"Comedy" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Canedy, Carmedy, cemed, cogedy, comady, comdef, comed, comedie, comey, Commey, commiy, comod, condy, cowedy, cymed, Mcevedy. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "comedy" (pronounced kÄ"mudē) |
| 4 | -m u d ē | remedy. |
| 3 | -u d ē | anybody, custody, malady, melody, nobody, parody, perfidy, prosody, raggedy, rhapsody, subsidy, tragedy. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "c-d-e-m-o-y" | |
-1 letter: coyed, decoy. | |
-2 letters: code, coed, come, cyme, deco, demo, demy, dome, emyd, mode. | |
-3 letters: cod, coy, dey, doc, doe, dom, dye, med, moc, mod, ode, yod, yom. | |
-4 letters: de, do, ed, em, me, mo, my, od, oe, om, oy, ye, yo. | |
| Words containing the letters "c-d-e-m-o-y" | |
+2 letters: coembody, corymbed, myceloid. | |
+3 letters: comradely, comradery, democracy. | |
+4 letters: coemployed, commandery, composedly, consumedly, dictyosome, diseconomy, hypodermic, immoderacy, mediocrity. | |
+5 letters: aerodynamic, chrysomelid, coembodying, comedically, commendably, confirmedly, currycombed, declamatory, demonically, dictyosomes, documentary, domesticity, gonadectomy, hemodynamic, honeycombed, hydrometric, hypodermics, maledictory, melodically, mollycoddle, motorcycled, polychromed, tragicomedy. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Spoken 11. Usage Frequency 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Derivations | 17. Rhymes 18. Anagrams 19. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
