parody
[par-uh-dee]
- a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing: his hilarious parody of Hamlet's soliloquy.
- the genre of literary composition represented by such imitations.
- a burlesque imitation of a musical composition.
- any humorous, satirical, or burlesque imitation, as of a person, event, etc.
- the use in the 16th century of borrowed material in a musical setting of the Mass (parody Mass).
- a poor or feeble imitation or semblance; travesty: His acting is a parody of his past greatness.
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- to imitate (a composition, author, etc.) for purposes of ridicule or satire.
- to imitate poorly or feebly; travesty.
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Origin of parody
Synonym study
1, 2. See burlesque.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
caricature, farce, joke, irony, satire, skit, burlesque, travesty, pastiche, cartoon, exaggerate, ridicule, lampoon, mimic, satirize, disparage, mock, mimicry, apology, misrepresentationExamples from the Web for parody
Contemporary Examples
But then, this show has always been more than just the parody of right-wing cable punditry it was originally made out to be.
As part of the writing team on Blazing Saddles, he gave its parody of the Western a sharper political edge.
He seems fleshless, bloodless; he might almost be a black man's parody of how a clean-cut white man moves.
Parody of street harassment viral video shows “street privilege.”
Entitled “Please Go Home,” the parody stars Daniel Franzese, best known as the “too gay to function” Damian from Mean Girls.
Anime Hologram Pop Stars, Return of ‘Fresh Prince’ Carlton, and More Viral VideosAlex Chancey
October 12, 2014
Historical Examples
Let the creed and commandments even have the saucy homage of parody.
Essays, Second SeriesRalph Waldo Emerson
You may parody the great statesman's peroration, and say, 'Where the King cannot enter, he can.'
The Daltons, Volume II (of II)Charles James Lever
Parody also helped in its way to the formation of the drama.
A Literary History of the English PeopleJean Jules Jusserand
Aha, you've discovered it's a parody, have you, you sly minx!
The StrawEugene O'Neill
We have already had occasion to notice it in connexion with Field's parody of Kyd.
John LylyJohn Dover Wilson
parody
- a musical, literary, or other composition that mimics the style of another composer, author, etc, in a humorous or satirical way
- mimicry of someone's individual manner in a humorous or satirical way
- something so badly done as to seem an intentional mockery; travesty
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- (tr) to make a parody of
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Word Origin
C16: via Latin from Greek paroidiā satirical poem, from para- 1 + ōidē song
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for parody
n.
1590s (first recorded use in English is in Ben Jonson), from or in imitation of Latin parodia "parody," from Greek paroidia "burlesque song or poem," from para- "beside, parallel to" (see para- (1), in this case, "mock-") + oide "song, ode" (see ode). The meaning "poor or feeble imitation" is from 1830. Related: Parodic; parodical.
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v.
c.1745, from parody (n.). Related: Parodied; parodying.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
parody
In art, music, or literature, a satire that mimics the style of its object.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.