Meaning

noun witty language used to convey insults or scorn; ; ; --Jonathan Swift

noun incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs

noun a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs

originEtymology tree Ancient Greek εἴρων (eírōn) Ancient Greek εἰρωνεύομαι (eirōneúomai) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek εἰρωνείᾱ (eirōneíā)der. Latin īrōnīader. Old French Middle French ironieder. English irony First attested in 1502. From Middle French ironie, from Old French, from Latin īrōnīa,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0