cartoon

Definitions

From Italian cartone, 'large stiff paper' (from charta, paper). A cartoon was first a full-size sketch on heavy paper that artists drew before painting a fresco. The everyday senses — a funny drawing, an animated film — grew out of that 'sketch on paper' idea.

Why It Means This

Few words have travelled this far from their origin. A cartone was the heavy paper a Renaissance master used for a life-size study before committing paint to a wall. As the art context faded, the word kept only 'a drawing,' then narrowed to comic and humorous drawings in 19th-century magazines, and finally to the animated films children watch. The serious studio tool became Saturday-morning entertainment.

Common Collocations

• 1.political cartoon政治漫画
• 2.cartoon character卡通人物
• 3.animated cartoon动画片
• 4.watch cartoons看动画片

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The kids watched cartoons all Saturday morning.

• 2.

  The magazine ran a sharp political cartoon on its cover.

• 3.

  Raphael's cartoons for the tapestries still survive.