comic

[kom-ik] /ˈkɒm ɪk/
adjective
1.
of, pertaining to, or characterized by comedy:
comic opera.
2.
of or pertaining to a person who acts in or writes comedy:
a comic actor; a comic dramatist.
3.
of, pertaining to, or characteristic of comedy:
comic situations; a comic sense.
4.
provoking laughter; humorous; funny; laughable.
noun
5.
a comedian.
6.
comic book.
7.
comics, comic strips.
8.
the comic, the element or quality of comedy in literature, art, drama, etc.:
An appreciation of the comic came naturally to her.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English < Latin cōmicus < Greek kōmikós, equivalent to kôm(os) a revel + -ikos -ic
Related forms
noncomic, adjective, noun
quasi-comic, adjective
semicomic, adjective
uncomic, adjective
Can be confused
comedic, comic, comical.
Examples from the web for comic
  • Fifty-eight years ago this month, a superhero made his debut on the cover of a comic book.
  • Sustainability thus unites vaunting political ambition and comic burlesque.
  • comic book characters have long been involved in science.
  • Using comic books to explore the issues and history of nuclear power.
  • Flashy capes and skintight garments are the usual accouterments of comic book superheroes.
  • Reading comic books is fairly intimidating if you don't get into it until later in life.
  • Behold the future of atomic energy in a comic book from the dawn of the atomic age.
  • Usually when dinosaurs appear in comic books or on screen they are there to menace the human protagonists of the story.
  • It involves stomping, but if you read the comic you could have inferred that.
  • Krypton isn't the only element to show up in the pages of comic books.
British Dictionary definitions for comic

comic

/ˈkɒmɪk/
adjective
1.
of, relating to, characterized by, or characteristic of comedy
2.
(prenominal) acting in, writing, or composing comedy: a comic writer
3.
humorous; funny
noun
4.
a person who is comic, esp a comic actor; comedian
5.
a book or magazine containing comic strips
6.
(usually pl) (mainly US & Canadian) comic strips in newspapers, etc
Word Origin
C16: from Latin cōmicus, from Greek kōmikos relating to comedy
Word Origin and History for comic
adj.

late 14c., "of comedy in the dramatic sense," from Latin comicus "of comedy, represented in comedy, in comic style," from Greek komikos "of or pertaining to comedy," from komos (see comedy). Meaning "intentionally funny" first recorded 1791, and comedic (1630s) has since picked up the older sense of the word.

Speaking of the masters of the comedic spirit (if I call it, as he does, the Comic Spirit, this darkened generation will suppose me to refer to the animal spirits of tomfools and merryandrews) .... [G.B. Shaw, 1897]
Something that is comic has comedy as its aim or origin; something is comical if the effect is comedy, whether intended or not.

n.

"a comedian" is from 1580s, from comic (adj.). Latin adjective comicus also meant "a comic poet, writer of comedies." Meaning "a comic book or comic strip" is from 1889 (Comic strip first attested 1920; comic book is from 1941). Comic relief is attested from 1825.