farceur

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The Word of the Day for October 5 is: 

farceur   \far-SUR\   noun
     1 : joker, wag 
    *2 : a writer or actor of farce 

Example sentence:
     The movie features a famous farceur trying his hand at a serious role for 
the first time.

Did you know?
     You've probably already spotted the "farce" in "farceur." But although 
"farceur" can now refer to someone who performs or composes farce, it began 
life in the late 18th century as a word for someone who is simply known for 
cracking jokes. Appropriately, "farceur" derives via Modern French from the 
Middle French "farcer," meaning "to joke." If you think of "farce" as a 
composition of ridiculous humor with a "stuffed" or contrived plot, then it 
should not surprise you that "farce" originally meant "forcemeat" -- seasoned 
meat used for a stuffing -- and that both "farce" and "farceur" can be 
ultimately traced back to the Latin verb "farcire," meaning "to stuff."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 





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