comicaladj.n.

Brit.

/ˈkɒmᵻkl/, U.S.

/ˈkɑmək(ə)l/

Forms: late Middle English comicalle, 1500s comiqual, 1500s commycal, 1500s commycall, 1500s comycall, 1500s–1600s commical, 1500s–1600s commicall, 1500s–1700s comicall, 1500s– comical.

Origin: A borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element. Etymons: Latin cōmicus , -al suffix¹.

Etymology: < classical Latin cōmicus comic adj. + -al suffix¹. Compare later comic adj., and (with the use as noun) comic n.

A. adj.

1. Of, relating to, or of the nature of comedy in drama or literature; = comic adj. 1. Now rare. Apparently not recorded in 19th cent.With quot. ?a1475 cf. quot. a1387 in etymological note at comic n. and adj.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > [adjective] > comedy

comical?a1475

comic1567

comedical1600

comedic1639

comedial1662

low comedy1814

Thalian1864

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1874) V. 321 Noble songes comicalle [L. comicos].

1540 J. Palsgrave in tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus sig. biv^v So that these names..the auctour hath taken to serue to his purpose, of whiche the lyke be not vsed of the olde Comicall poetes.

1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. N.i Delitefull talke loues Comicall Thaley.

?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 58 One Plautus a Comicall Poet.

1664 Duchess of Newcastle CCXI Sociable Lett. clxii. 388 The third was our Countryman Shakespear, for his Comical and Tragical Humour.

1715 J. Gay What d'ye call It Pref. sig. Aii^v As to the Plot, they deny it to be Tragical, because its Catastrophe is a Wedding, which hath ever been accounted Comical.

1753 R. Sheils & T. Cibber Lives Poets Great Brit. & Irel. II. 166 In this volume there are several feigned stories of natural descriptions, as comical, tragical, and tragi-comical.

1983 T. McCoy Wish Peddler 11 Now, what kind of play would you like? Comical? Tragical? Lyrical? Pastoral?..Speak up.

†2.

a. Of a style, subject, idea, etc.: suitable for comedy; trivial, coarse, low, undignified. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > inelegance > [adjective] > low in style

broad1490

low1518

bawdy1519

comical?1565

foot1582

tavernly1612

mean1659

gruff1681

vulgar1716

terra a terra1728

pedestrian1805

unraised1817

terre-à-terre1888

?1565 A. Hartwell in tr. W. Haddon Sight of Portugall Pearle Ep. Ded. sig. Aii Diuine and heauenlie misteryes..oughte not by our lewdnesse thus to bee prophaned, turned into Comicall brawles.

1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. B7 Stile of Epistles..Humile, the lowest comicall, and most simple of all others, the matter whereof is the meanest subiect of anye argument that may be..and is fittest appropriate to our familiar Letters.

1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy iii. i. i. i. 495 That it is too light for a Divine, too Comicall a subiect to speake of Loue Symptomes.

a1674 Earl of Clarendon Brief View Leviathan (1676) 18 This Comical mention of the power and goodness of God..in a place so improper and unnatural for those reflexions.

1687 E. Settle Refl. Dryden's Plays 29 Surely the Laureat..has the lest and most Comical Notions of Kings that e're I met with.

1727 tr. Voltaire Ess. Civil Wars France 91 Processions and Litanies, and all the Parts of Popish Religion, which are accounted comical and mean in England.

b. Of a person: (perhaps) low, mean, ignoble or clownish. Obsolete, rare.

ΚΠ

1670 W. Penn Great Case Liberty of Consc. Pref. When they had sacrificed their divine Socrates to the sottish fury of their lewd and commical multitude, they..regreeted their hasty murder.

†3. Resembling the ending of a comedy; happy. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > [adjective] > favoured or attended by good fortune

eadilyOE

blessedc1175

selec1225

yblessed1297

fortunedc1374

fortunatec1386

happya1393

happenc1400

well-fortunedc1425

lucklyc1450

fortunablec1470

fortunousc1470

well-fortunate1474

richc1478

lucky?1510

comical?1569

well1577

propitious1581

felicious1599

auspicious1616

felicitous1641

bonifate1656

faust1676

weirdly1807

arsey1953

the mind > emotion > pleasure > happiness > [adjective] > specifically of a period, condition, or event

blissfulc1175

happya1547

comical?1569

untragic1837

?1569 T. Underdowne tr. Heliodorus Æthiopian Hist. vii. f. 91^v The wicked Battaile..whiche menne thoughte shoulde be finished with Bloude, had of a Tragical beginninge a Comical endinge [L. comicum finem].

1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft iii. x. 57 A comicall catastrophe.

1588 R. Greene Perimedes sig. E Fortune willing after so sharpe a Catastrophe, to induce a comicall conclusion, tempered hir storme with this pleasant calme.

a1627 J. Hayward Life & Raigne Edward Sixt (1630) 102 That all might appeare to be knit vp in a comicall conclusion, the Dukes daughter was afterwards ioyned in mariage to the Lord Lisle.

1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine iv. ii. 36 But Comicall was the end of Job, and all things restored double to him.

a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) iv. viii. 361 The Comical part of the Lives of Men are too full of Sin and Vanity, and the Tragical part thereof too full of Sin and Misery.

4. Unintentionally humorous; ridiculous, laughable. Cf. comic adj. 4.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [adjective] > comical

merryc1390

pleasant1553

comical1575

mowsome1596

zany1616

burlesque1656

humoursome1656

farce-like1681

foolish1691

farcical1715

amusive1727

farciful1731

funny1739

farcic1763

quizzical1785

quizzy1785

quizzish1792

rib-tickling1809

smileable1830

cocasse1868

priceless1907

skit1914

funny-ha-ha1916

gas1955

1575 T. Tymme tr. A. Marlorat Catholike & Eccles. Expos. Iohn xiii. 463 That commicall Pompe [L. comica illa pompa] is nothing else but a filthye scorninge of Christ.

1603 T. Dekker 1603: Wonderfull Yeare sig. D3^v Discoursing..of the seuerall most worthie accidents, and strange birthes which this pestiferous yeare hath brought forth: some of them yeelding Comicall and ridiculous stuffe, others lamentable.

1704 T. Brown Cal. Reform'd in Duke of Buckingham et al. Misc. Wks. 219 The oddest and most Comical Scene is still behind.

1735 H. Fielding Old Man taught Wisdom 15 Your father is a very Comical, queer old Fellow.

1811 Scourge 1 Nov. 378 Just as we got there we saw one of the comicalest things!

1887 J. A. L. Riley Athos xiii There was something extremely comical in the sight of the archbishop lying flat on his back.

1920 Times 31 Jan. 16/1 This is a comical war; we chase the Portuguese and the English chase us.

1963 M. Gordon & H. McLean tr. M. Zoshchenko Nervous People & other Satires 333 People are cheap and vulgar. Their behavior is comical.

2013 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 3 Sept. 26 The dispute at Ballynahinch would almost be comical if it was not so sad.

5. Intentionally humorous; funny. Cf. comic adj. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [adjective] > comical > intentionally

comical?1589

comic1630

?1589 T. Nashe Almond for Parrat sig. A2 To That Most Comicall and conceited Caualeire Monsieur du Kempe, Iestmonger and Vice-gerent generall to the Ghost of Dicke Tarlton.

1607 T. Walkington Optick Glasse vii. f. 66^v For a suddain..comicall ieast, a witty bourd, for a smug neat stile..hee can neuer bee aequiualent with a sanguine complection, which is the paragon of all.

1685 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II I. 135 A man..may break jests upon pain, and entertain his company with comical Representations of the Groans and Agonies of dying.

1744 A. Hamilton Itinerarium 1 Sept. in C. Bridenbaugh Gentleman's Progress (1992) 176 After dinner Mr. Jeffrys came in, and we had some very comicall jaw.

1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1776 II. 84 Johnson: But the dog [i.e. S. Foote] was so very comical, that I was obliged to..throw myself back upon my chair, and fairly laugh it out.

1878 Fun 17 Apr. 160/2 Lyrical subjects I care not to seek,..I must be comical every week.

1890 S. Bing Artistic Japan V. xxvii. 355 The Japanese find a never-ceasing fund of amusement in comical representations of their seven household gods.

1936 A. L. Haskell in ‘C. Brahms’ Footnotes to Ballet i. 11 There is the character dancer who may specialise in the miming of comic rôles or in villainous miming (usually also comical).

1974 D. Clement & I. La Frenais Porridge: Scripts (2002) 1st Ser. Episode 1. 35 Very comical, Fletcher.

2005 Sunday Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 17 Apr. 28 Despite the comical tone, there's a serious layer to the book.

a. Strange, odd. Now rare (English regional (south-western) in later use).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [adjective] > odd

quaintc1325

awkc1440

queer?a1513

odd1578

quaintish1594

odd-conceiteda1616

odd-ceited1652

whimsical1675

singulara1684

eccentric1685

oddish1705

rummish1709

comical1713

odd-like1718

rum1750

queerish1775

funny1793

quare1805

rummy1828

kinky1844

quirkish1848

quirky1873

odd-gates1906

funny-peculiar1916

antrin1925

off-brand1929

fanciful-

1713 Acct. South-west Barbary 10 As their Accoutrement was very comical and odd, so their Faces were strange,..and their Crys hideous and frightful.

1793 Ld. Sheffield Let. 5 Feb. in Ld. Auckland Jrnl. & Corr. (1861) II. 495 Opposition..seems suspended in a comical state.

1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. viii. 214 I think it likely he may grant thy request, though, by my honour, it is a comical one!

1861 ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner ii. 31 And now it was all clear how he should have come from unknown parts, and be so ‘comical-looking’.

1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Comical, odd in appearance.

b. Chiefly English regional. Difficult to deal with; awkward, disagreeable; (also) idiosyncratic.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > disposition or character > [adjective] > idiosyncratic

idiosyncrasical1633

idiosyncratical1670

idiocratical1727

comical1752

idiosyncratic1754

individualistic1861

1752 Mod. Story-teller II. 62 My Lord..is one of the oddest-tempered Men in the whole World. But I suppose..that you have heard of his comical Temper often enough.

1796 J. G. Holman Abroad & at Home iii. ii. 69 I'm a married man for the first time in my life. 'Tis devilish comical. I wonder how I shall like it!

1869 J. C. Atkinson Peacock's Gloss. Dial. Hundred of Lonsdale Comical, ill-tempered.

1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. Comical, (1) disagreeable, queer in temper..(2) bad, dangerous: said of roads.

1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire Comical, captious, hard to please.

1888 S. O. Addy Gloss. Words Sheffield Comical, difficult, perplexing, ‘Wa, this is a comical job, ooever’.

1903 T. Hardy Dynasts (1904) I. ii. iv. 76 He's a very obstinate and comical old gentleman; and..'a wouldn't make port when asked to.

1956 in F. G. Cassidy & R. B. Le Page Dict. Jamaican Eng. (1967) 117/1 Comical, fussy over food.

1974 J. Stevens Cox Ilchester Word List 31/2 Mary be comical again.

1979 N. Rogers Wessex Dial. 76/1 Comical, awkward of character, a comical person makes himself as awkward as possible.

c. English regional. Unwell, ill.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased

untrumc825

sickc888

unwholec888

slackc897

unstronga900

sicklea1000

sam-halea1023

worseOE

attaint1303

languishinga1325

heallessc1374

sicklyc1374

sicklewa1387

bada1393

mishalea1400

languoring?c1425

distempered1440

unwell?c1450

detent?a1475

poora1475

languorousc1475

maladif1481

illa1500

maladiousc1500

wanthriven1508

attainted1509

unsound1513

acrazed1521

cracked1527

unsoundya1529

visited1537

infirmed1552

crazed1555

healthless1568

ill-liking1572

afflicted1574

crazy1576

unhealthful1580

sickish1581

valetudinary1581

not well1587

fainty1590

ill-disposed1596

unhealthsome1598

tainted1600

ill-affected1604

peaking1611

unhealthy1611

infirmited1616

disaffected1626

physical1633

illish1637

pimping1640

invalid1642

misaffected1645

valetudinarious1648

unhale1653

badly1654

unwholesome1655

valetudinous1655

morbulent1656

off the hooksa1658

mawkish1668

morbid1668

unthriven1680

unsane1690

ailing1716

not wellish1737

underlya1742

poorly1750

indifferent1753

comical1755

maladized1790

sober1808

sickened1815

broken-down1816

peaky1821

poorlyish1827

souffrante1827

run-down1831

sicklied1835

addle1844

shaky1844

mean1845

dauncy1846

stricken1846

peakyish1853

po'ly1860

pindling1861

rough1882

rocky1883

suffering1885

wabbit1895

icky-boo1920

like death warmed up1924

icky1938

ropy1945

crappy1956

hanging1971

sick as a parrot1982

shite1987

1755 B. Victor Widow of Wood 42 He inquired after her Lady's Health.—To which she replied, Sir, my Mistress is comical!

1798 J. Woodforde Diary 7 July (1931) V. 126 The Dog days make me very faint and weak & comical.

1884 Upton-on-Severn Gloss. Comical, unwell. ‘'E seemed that comical as 'e couldn't eat no fittle.’

1889 C. B. Mount MS Note (O.E.D. Archive) I be in a plain way: I do feel so comical in myself.

1889 C. B. Mount MS Note (O.E.D. Archive) I felt so comical, I thought I was going to die.

1974 W. Leeds Herefordshire Speech 54 I came over all comical.

B. n.

1. A comical person.

ΚΠ

1747 Duke of Richmond Let. 2 Mar. in Corr. Dukes of Richmond & Newcastle (1984) 270 Linky is a comicall, & as testy.

1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 253 All the comicals of Oxford brought together.

2007 R. Weaver-Hightower Empire Islands i. 28 When Caliban swears loyalty to the comicals later in the play, he illustrates his devotion..through offers of food.

2. With the. That which is comical; the comic style or genre.

ΚΠ

1838 J. Grant Sketches London v. 178 He..made a remarkably rapid transition from the comical to the tragic.

1868 Fraser's Mag. July 12/1 The writer proceeds to specify the directions in which the comical is usually found in religion, in science, and literature.

1933 B. Gadelius Human Mentality xiii. 350 Bergson's point of departure..was Don Quixote, the world-renowned prototype of the comical.

1991 P. Kussi tr. M. Kundera Immortality vi. xxi. 323 Is not laughter a lightning thought that has just grasped the comical?

2000 P. Parrinder Learning from Other Worlds i. 48 The ‘science-fictional’ would have to be distinguished from the comical, tragical, satirical, pastoral and so on.

Compounds

Complementary, as comical-looking, comical-sounding, etc., adjs.

ΚΠ

1694 P. A. Motteux in tr. F. Rabelais Pantagruel's Voy.: 4th Bk. Wks. p. xxxvii His Design seems rather..to secure himself from the Informations of his Prying Enemies by that mixture of Comical seeming Nonsense.

1771 tr. Molière Wks. IV. 130 I cannot understand what that comical looking fellow there wants at my house.

1827 High Life I. iv. 80 A fat, comical-looking woman..was seated in an arm-chair at one end of the room.

1869 Macmillan's Mag. May 234/1 The comical-sounding, though highly experimental criticisms..in Edgeworth's ‘Practical Education’.

1923 D. H. Lawrence Kangaroo i. 1 A comical-looking bloke! Perhaps a Bolshy.

1992 Amer. Zoologist 32 111/1 Numerous (now comical-seeming) scenarios have been proposed to explain the situation away.

2014 Guardian (Nexis) 3 May (Travel section) 3 We spotted packs of mischievous macaques, comical-looking proboscis monkeys..and our first wild orangutan.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	comical
释义	comicaladj.n. Brit. /ˈkɒmᵻkl/, U.S. /ˈkɑmək(ə)l/ Forms: late Middle English comicalle, 1500s comiqual, 1500s commycal, 1500s commycall, 1500s comycall, 1500s–1600s commical, 1500s–1600s commicall, 1500s–1700s comicall, 1500s– comical. Origin: A borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element. Etymons: Latin cōmicus , -al suffix¹. Etymology: < classical Latin cōmicus comic adj. + -al suffix¹. Compare later comic adj., and (with the use as noun) comic n. A. adj. 1. Of, relating to, or of the nature of comedy in drama or literature; = comic adj. 1. Now rare. Apparently not recorded in 19th cent.With quot. ?a1475 cf. quot. a1387 in etymological note at comic n. and adj. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > [adjective] > comedy comical?a1475 comic1567 comedical1600 comedic1639 comedial1662 low comedy1814 Thalian1864 ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1874) V. 321 Noble songes comicalle [L. comicos]. 1540 J. Palsgrave in tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus sig. biv^v So that these names..the auctour hath taken to serue to his purpose, of whiche the lyke be not vsed of the olde Comicall poetes. 1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. N.i Delitefull talke loues Comicall Thaley. ?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 58 One Plautus a Comicall Poet. 1664 Duchess of Newcastle CCXI Sociable Lett. clxii. 388 The third was our Countryman Shakespear, for his Comical and Tragical Humour. 1715 J. Gay What d'ye call It Pref. sig. Aii^v As to the Plot, they deny it to be Tragical, because its Catastrophe is a Wedding, which hath ever been accounted Comical. 1753 R. Sheils & T. Cibber Lives Poets Great Brit. & Irel. II. 166 In this volume there are several feigned stories of natural descriptions, as comical, tragical, and tragi-comical. 1983 T. McCoy Wish Peddler 11 Now, what kind of play would you like? Comical? Tragical? Lyrical? Pastoral?..Speak up. †2. a. Of a style, subject, idea, etc.: suitable for comedy; trivial, coarse, low, undignified. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > inelegance > [adjective] > low in style broad1490 low1518 bawdy1519 comical?1565 foot1582 tavernly1612 mean1659 gruff1681 vulgar1716 terra a terra1728 pedestrian1805 unraised1817 terre-à-terre1888 ?1565 A. Hartwell in tr. W. Haddon Sight of Portugall Pearle Ep. Ded. sig. Aii Diuine and heauenlie misteryes..oughte not by our lewdnesse thus to bee prophaned, turned into Comicall brawles. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. B7 Stile of Epistles..Humile, the lowest comicall, and most simple of all others, the matter whereof is the meanest subiect of anye argument that may be..and is fittest appropriate to our familiar Letters. 1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy iii. i. i. i. 495 That it is too light for a Divine, too Comicall a subiect to speake of Loue Symptomes. a1674 Earl of Clarendon Brief View Leviathan (1676) 18 This Comical mention of the power and goodness of God..in a place so improper and unnatural for those reflexions. 1687 E. Settle Refl. Dryden's Plays 29 Surely the Laureat..has the lest and most Comical Notions of Kings that e're I met with. 1727 tr. Voltaire Ess. Civil Wars France 91 Processions and Litanies, and all the Parts of Popish Religion, which are accounted comical and mean in England. b. Of a person: (perhaps) low, mean, ignoble or clownish. Obsolete, rare. ΚΠ 1670 W. Penn Great Case Liberty of Consc. Pref. When they had sacrificed their divine Socrates to the sottish fury of their lewd and commical multitude, they..regreeted their hasty murder. †3. Resembling the ending of a comedy; happy. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > [adjective] > favoured or attended by good fortune eadilyOE blessedc1175 selec1225 yblessed1297 fortunedc1374 fortunatec1386 happya1393 happenc1400 well-fortunedc1425 lucklyc1450 fortunablec1470 fortunousc1470 well-fortunate1474 richc1478 lucky?1510 comical?1569 well1577 propitious1581 felicious1599 auspicious1616 felicitous1641 bonifate1656 faust1676 weirdly1807 arsey1953 the mind > emotion > pleasure > happiness > [adjective] > specifically of a period, condition, or event blissfulc1175 happya1547 comical?1569 untragic1837 ?1569 T. Underdowne tr. Heliodorus Æthiopian Hist. vii. f. 91^v The wicked Battaile..whiche menne thoughte shoulde be finished with Bloude, had of a Tragical beginninge a Comical endinge [L. comicum finem]. 1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft iii. x. 57 A comicall catastrophe. 1588 R. Greene Perimedes sig. E Fortune willing after so sharpe a Catastrophe, to induce a comicall conclusion, tempered hir storme with this pleasant calme. a1627 J. Hayward Life & Raigne Edward Sixt (1630) 102 That all might appeare to be knit vp in a comicall conclusion, the Dukes daughter was afterwards ioyned in mariage to the Lord Lisle. 1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine iv. ii. 36 But Comicall was the end of Job, and all things restored double to him. a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) iv. viii. 361 The Comical part of the Lives of Men are too full of Sin and Vanity, and the Tragical part thereof too full of Sin and Misery. 4. Unintentionally humorous; ridiculous, laughable. Cf. comic adj. 4. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [adjective] > comical merryc1390 pleasant1553 comical1575 mowsome1596 zany1616 burlesque1656 humoursome1656 farce-like1681 foolish1691 farcical1715 amusive1727 farciful1731 funny1739 farcic1763 quizzical1785 quizzy1785 quizzish1792 rib-tickling1809 smileable1830 cocasse1868 priceless1907 skit1914 funny-ha-ha1916 gas1955 1575 T. Tymme tr. A. Marlorat Catholike & Eccles. Expos. Iohn xiii. 463 That commicall Pompe [L. comica illa pompa] is nothing else but a filthye scorninge of Christ. 1603 T. Dekker 1603: Wonderfull Yeare sig. D3^v Discoursing..of the seuerall most worthie accidents, and strange birthes which this pestiferous yeare hath brought forth: some of them yeelding Comicall and ridiculous stuffe, others lamentable. 1704 T. Brown Cal. Reform'd in Duke of Buckingham et al. Misc. Wks. 219 The oddest and most Comical Scene is still behind. 1735 H. Fielding Old Man taught Wisdom 15 Your father is a very Comical, queer old Fellow. 1811 Scourge 1 Nov. 378 Just as we got there we saw one of the comicalest things! 1887 J. A. L. Riley Athos xiii There was something extremely comical in the sight of the archbishop lying flat on his back. 1920 Times 31 Jan. 16/1 This is a comical war; we chase the Portuguese and the English chase us. 1963 M. Gordon & H. McLean tr. M. Zoshchenko Nervous People & other Satires 333 People are cheap and vulgar. Their behavior is comical. 2013 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 3 Sept. 26 The dispute at Ballynahinch would almost be comical if it was not so sad. 5. Intentionally humorous; funny. Cf. comic adj. 3. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [adjective] > comical > intentionally comical?1589 comic1630 ?1589 T. Nashe Almond for Parrat sig. A2 To That Most Comicall and conceited Caualeire Monsieur du Kempe, Iestmonger and Vice-gerent generall to the Ghost of Dicke Tarlton. 1607 T. Walkington Optick Glasse vii. f. 66^v For a suddain..comicall ieast, a witty bourd, for a smug neat stile..hee can neuer bee aequiualent with a sanguine complection, which is the paragon of all. 1685 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II I. 135 A man..may break jests upon pain, and entertain his company with comical Representations of the Groans and Agonies of dying. 1744 A. Hamilton Itinerarium 1 Sept. in C. Bridenbaugh Gentleman's Progress (1992) 176 After dinner Mr. Jeffrys came in, and we had some very comicall jaw. 1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1776 II. 84 Johnson: But the dog [i.e. S. Foote] was so very comical, that I was obliged to..throw myself back upon my chair, and fairly laugh it out. 1878 Fun 17 Apr. 160/2 Lyrical subjects I care not to seek,..I must be comical every week. 1890 S. Bing Artistic Japan V. xxvii. 355 The Japanese find a never-ceasing fund of amusement in comical representations of their seven household gods. 1936 A. L. Haskell in ‘C. Brahms’ Footnotes to Ballet i. 11 There is the character dancer who may specialise in the miming of comic rôles or in villainous miming (usually also comical). 1974 D. Clement & I. La Frenais Porridge: Scripts (2002) 1st Ser. Episode 1. 35 Very comical, Fletcher. 2005 Sunday Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 17 Apr. 28 Despite the comical tone, there's a serious layer to the book. 6. a. Strange, odd. Now rare (English regional (south-western) in later use). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [adjective] > odd quaintc1325 awkc1440 queer?a1513 odd1578 quaintish1594 odd-conceiteda1616 odd-ceited1652 whimsical1675 singulara1684 eccentric1685 oddish1705 rummish1709 comical1713 odd-like1718 rum1750 queerish1775 funny1793 quare1805 rummy1828 kinky1844 quirkish1848 quirky1873 odd-gates1906 funny-peculiar1916 antrin1925 off-brand1929 fanciful- 1713 Acct. South-west Barbary 10 As their Accoutrement was very comical and odd, so their Faces were strange,..and their Crys hideous and frightful. 1793 Ld. Sheffield Let. 5 Feb. in Ld. Auckland Jrnl. & Corr. (1861) II. 495 Opposition..seems suspended in a comical state. 1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. viii. 214 I think it likely he may grant thy request, though, by my honour, it is a comical one! 1861 ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner ii. 31 And now it was all clear how he should have come from unknown parts, and be so ‘comical-looking’. 1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Comical, odd in appearance. b. Chiefly English regional. Difficult to deal with; awkward, disagreeable; (also) idiosyncratic. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > disposition or character > [adjective] > idiosyncratic idiosyncrasical1633 idiosyncratical1670 idiocratical1727 comical1752 idiosyncratic1754 individualistic1861 1752 Mod. Story-teller II. 62 My Lord..is one of the oddest-tempered Men in the whole World. But I suppose..that you have heard of his comical Temper often enough. 1796 J. G. Holman Abroad & at Home iii. ii. 69 I'm a married man for the first time in my life. 'Tis devilish comical. I wonder how I shall like it! 1869 J. C. Atkinson Peacock's Gloss. Dial. Hundred of Lonsdale Comical, ill-tempered. 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. Comical, (1) disagreeable, queer in temper..(2) bad, dangerous: said of roads. 1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire Comical, captious, hard to please. 1888 S. O. Addy Gloss. Words Sheffield Comical, difficult, perplexing, ‘Wa, this is a comical job, ooever’. 1903 T. Hardy Dynasts (1904) I. ii. iv. 76 He's a very obstinate and comical old gentleman; and..'a wouldn't make port when asked to. 1956 in F. G. Cassidy & R. B. Le Page Dict. Jamaican Eng. (1967) 117/1 Comical, fussy over food. 1974 J. Stevens Cox Ilchester Word List 31/2 Mary be comical again. 1979 N. Rogers Wessex Dial. 76/1 Comical, awkward of character, a comical person makes himself as awkward as possible. c. English regional. Unwell, ill. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased untrumc825 sickc888 unwholec888 slackc897 unstronga900 sicklea1000 sam-halea1023 worseOE attaint1303 languishinga1325 heallessc1374 sicklyc1374 sicklewa1387 bada1393 mishalea1400 languoring?c1425 distempered1440 unwell?c1450 detent?a1475 poora1475 languorousc1475 maladif1481 illa1500 maladiousc1500 wanthriven1508 attainted1509 unsound1513 acrazed1521 cracked1527 unsoundya1529 visited1537 infirmed1552 crazed1555 healthless1568 ill-liking1572 afflicted1574 crazy1576 unhealthful1580 sickish1581 valetudinary1581 not well1587 fainty1590 ill-disposed1596 unhealthsome1598 tainted1600 ill-affected1604 peaking1611 unhealthy1611 infirmited1616 disaffected1626 physical1633 illish1637 pimping1640 invalid1642 misaffected1645 valetudinarious1648 unhale1653 badly1654 unwholesome1655 valetudinous1655 morbulent1656 off the hooksa1658 mawkish1668 morbid1668 unthriven1680 unsane1690 ailing1716 not wellish1737 underlya1742 poorly1750 indifferent1753 comical1755 maladized1790 sober1808 sickened1815 broken-down1816 peaky1821 poorlyish1827 souffrante1827 run-down1831 sicklied1835 addle1844 shaky1844 mean1845 dauncy1846 stricken1846 peakyish1853 po'ly1860 pindling1861 rough1882 rocky1883 suffering1885 wabbit1895 icky-boo1920 like death warmed up1924 icky1938 ropy1945 crappy1956 hanging1971 sick as a parrot1982 shite1987 1755 B. Victor Widow of Wood 42 He inquired after her Lady's Health.—To which she replied, Sir, my Mistress is comical! 1798 J. Woodforde Diary 7 July (1931) V. 126 The Dog days make me very faint and weak & comical. 1884 Upton-on-Severn Gloss. Comical, unwell. ‘'E seemed that comical as 'e couldn't eat no fittle.’ 1889 C. B. Mount MS Note (O.E.D. Archive) I be in a plain way: I do feel so comical in myself. 1889 C. B. Mount MS Note (O.E.D. Archive) I felt so comical, I thought I was going to die. 1974 W. Leeds Herefordshire Speech 54 I came over all comical. B. n. 1. A comical person. ΚΠ 1747 Duke of Richmond Let. 2 Mar. in Corr. Dukes of Richmond & Newcastle (1984) 270 Linky is a comicall, & as testy. 1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 253 All the comicals of Oxford brought together. 2007 R. Weaver-Hightower Empire Islands i. 28 When Caliban swears loyalty to the comicals later in the play, he illustrates his devotion..through offers of food. 2. With the. That which is comical; the comic style or genre. ΚΠ 1838 J. Grant Sketches London v. 178 He..made a remarkably rapid transition from the comical to the tragic. 1868 Fraser's Mag. July 12/1 The writer proceeds to specify the directions in which the comical is usually found in religion, in science, and literature. 1933 B. Gadelius Human Mentality xiii. 350 Bergson's point of departure..was Don Quixote, the world-renowned prototype of the comical. 1991 P. Kussi tr. M. Kundera Immortality vi. xxi. 323 Is not laughter a lightning thought that has just grasped the comical? 2000 P. Parrinder Learning from Other Worlds i. 48 The ‘science-fictional’ would have to be distinguished from the comical, tragical, satirical, pastoral and so on. Compounds Complementary, as comical-looking, comical-sounding, etc., adjs. ΚΠ 1694 P. A. Motteux in tr. F. Rabelais Pantagruel's Voy.: 4th Bk. Wks. p. xxxvii His Design seems rather..to secure himself from the Informations of his Prying Enemies by that mixture of Comical seeming Nonsense. 1771 tr. Molière Wks. IV. 130 I cannot understand what that comical looking fellow there wants at my house. 1827 High Life I. iv. 80 A fat, comical-looking woman..was seated in an arm-chair at one end of the room. 1869 Macmillan's Mag. May 234/1 The comical-sounding, though highly experimental criticisms..in Edgeworth's ‘Practical Education’. 1923 D. H. Lawrence Kangaroo i. 1 A comical-looking bloke! Perhaps a Bolshy. 1992 Amer. Zoologist 32 111/1 Numerous (now comical-seeming) scenarios have been proposed to explain the situation away. 2014 Guardian (Nexis) 3 May (Travel section) 3 We spotted packs of mischievous macaques, comical-looking proboscis monkeys..and our first wild orangutan. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adj.n.?a1475
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