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."