Plautine

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of the ancient Roman comic playwright Plautus or his dramatic compositions
2. Pertaining to Plautus, the prolific Roman author of comedies, or his style and theatrical works
3. Belonging to or associated with Plautus and the comic plays he wrote in ancient Rome

Etymology: "Plautine" is an adjective meaning of or relating to the Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus, who wrote comedies in the late third and early second centuries BC. It comes from Latin "Plautīnus," the adjective formed from the name Plautus, using the common Latin suffix "-inus" to mean "belonging to" or "characteristic of." English took the word from that Latin form, so the adjective carries the playwright's name directly into English. The name itself is the notable part: Plautus was a nickname-like cognomen, and his plays, such as "Miles Gloriosus" and "Amphitryon," were so widely imitated that his name became a shorthand for a whole style of comedy. Writers and critics describing broad, farcical humour with stock characters and boastful soldiers or clever slaves reach for this adjective to label that tradition rather than any single work.