absurd

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   completely unreasonable or silly; ridiculous

   It is absurd to expect us to finish all this work in one hour.

2. 2
   noun

   the idea that human life has no real meaning or order

   Camus wrote about the absurd at the heart of human existence.

Simplified etymology

Absurd entered English in the mid-16th century from Latin absurdus. One Latin sense was “out of tune,” from which developed the figurative meaning “out of harmony with reason” and hence “irrational.” The musical sense was also occasionally used in earlier English.

First attested in 1557. From Middle French absurde, from Latin absurdus (“incongruous, dissonant, out of tune”), from ab (“away from, out”) + surdus (“silent, deaf, dull-sounding”). Compare surd.

Topics

External links

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