witticism

[wit-uh-siz-uhm]

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noun

a witty remark or sentence.

Origin of witticism

1645–55; derivative of witty, modeled on criticism

Synonyms for witticism

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joke, jest, quip, sally, wisecrack.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for witticism

gibe, wisecrack, pun, quip, joke, remark, jest, gag, sally, mot

Examples from the Web for witticism

Historical Examples of witticism

This was apparently a witticism; at any rate, it elicited roars of laughter.
The Village Watch-Tower
(AKA Kate Douglas Riggs) Kate Douglas Wiggin
Aunt Agathe, always ready with a witticism, risked several jokes.
The Flood
Emile Zola
Urbanity he practised, not with jest and witticism, but by the courtesy of his demeanour.
Agesilaus
Xenophon
A grin of self-approval at his own witticism closed this speech.
The Fortunes Of Glencore
Charles James Lever
And deriving much comfort from this witticism, she went on her way.
McClure's Magazine, Vol. XXXI, No. 3, July 1908.
Various

British Dictionary definitions for witticism

witticism

noun

a clever or witty remark

Word Origin for witticism

C17: from witty; coined by Dryden (1677) by analogy with criticism

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for witticism

1670s, coined by Dryden from witty on model of criticism.