Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Language: French
Origin: Latin ridiculum 'something funny', from ridere 'to laugh'

ridicule

1 noun
     
rid‧i‧cule1 [uncountable]
unkind laughter or remarks that are intended to make someone or something seem stupid:
the ridicule of his peers
The government's proposals were held up to ridicule (=suffered ridicule) by opposition ministers.
He had become an object of ridicule among the other teachers.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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