Cartoon

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /kɑɹˈtuːn/

Definitions

1. A humorous drawing or series of drawings, often found in newspapers or animated into short films for entertainment
2. A stylized illustration or animated sequence intended for humor, often depicting exaggerated characters or situations in a visual narrative
3. A visual art form that combines drawings or animations to convey comic or satirical commentary, often seen in media

Etymology: The most surprising turn here is that "cartoon" once meant a sturdy sheet of paper, not a drawing. It passed into English from French "carton," which descends from the Italian "cartone," an augmentative of "carta," meaning paper, itself traced back to Latin "carta" and ultimately to the Greek "khartēs," the word for papyrus. So a "cartoon" was first a heavy card or cardboard, and the word is a doublet of "carton" and "card," which came down the same path through different routes. The jump to drawings came through art. A cartoon in this older sense was a full-size preparatory sketch made on stout paper, from which an artist would transfer the design onto a wall, panel or tapestry. Those working drawings were valued in their own right, and over time the word shifted from the sheet itself to the sketch on it, and then to the comic or satirical drawings that now dominate its meaning.

Synonyms: animation, comic, drawing, sketch, illustration

Antonyms: realism, photograph