Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Where does the word caricature come from?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
caricature and cartoon
Cartoon depicting U.S. Pres. Chester A. Arthur suffering from his dealings with factions within the Republican Party, 1882.
The word caricature derives from the Italian verb caricare, which means "to load" or "to surcharge," as in loading a subject with exaggerated detail.1
The term is closely linked to the noun caricatura, which was introduced into France in 1665 by the sculptor-architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini. While caricare is the primary source, some scholars suggest the word may have been influenced by the Italian carattere ("character") or the Spanish cara ("face"), as the face serves as the starting point for most caricatures. The term appears to have been used in print as early as 1646 in Mosiniās Diverse Figure.1