# cartoon

Pronunciation: US say "kar-TOON" /kɑɹˈtuːn/; UK say "kah-TOON" /kɑːˈtuːn/

## Noun

1. A piece of animated film, often though not exclusively humorous in tone.
   - Simple: A movie or short film made with drawings or computer images that move.
   - _The studio released a short cartoon ahead of the main feature._
   - _Early cartoons were drawn by hand, frame by frame._
2. A humorous drawing, often accompanied by a caption, or a strip of several humorous drawings in sequence.
   - Simple: A funny drawing in a newspaper or magazine, sometimes with words under it.
   - _The magazine's back page features a single-panel cartoon each week._
   - _Editors rejected dozens of cartoons before choosing one for the issue._
3. An animated series; a television or streaming show consisting of animated episodes.
   - Simple: A TV show with moving drawings that has many episodes.
   - _The cartoon ran for nine seasons before the network canceled it._
   - _Streaming services now produce original cartoons aimed at adult audiences._
4. A drawing that satirizes current public figures.
   - Simple: A drawing that makes fun of famous people like politicians, often in a newspaper.
   - _The editorial page features a cartoon skewering the senator's latest scandal._
   - _His cartoons of the prime minister earned him both fans and lawsuits._
5. A full-sized preparatory drawing that serves as the template for a fresco, tapestry, or other large work.
   - Simple: A full-size drawing that artists use as a guide for a wall painting or a large woven picture.
   - _Raphael's cartoons for the Sistine Chapel tapestries survive in London._
   - _The museum displays the cartoon alongside the finished tapestry._
6. A preliminary sketch made by an artist in preparation for a finished work.
   - Simple: A quick first drawing that an artist makes before starting the real work.
   - _The gallery exhibited the cartoon next to the completed portrait._
   - _Several surviving cartoons reveal how drastically the composition changed before the final canvas._
9. A simplified diagram used to illustrate a scientific concept or process.
   - Simple: A simple drawing that shows how a scientific idea works.
   - _Figure 2 presents a cartoon of the signaling pathway discussed in the results._
   - _The lecturer sketched a quick cartoon of plate movement on the whiteboard._

## Verb

7. To draw a cartoon, that is, a humorous drawing.
   - Simple: To draw funny pictures, especially for a newspaper or magazine.
   - _He cartooned for the city paper throughout the 1990s._
   - _Artists who cartoon professionally often begin by selling single panels to magazines._
8. To make a preliminary sketch of a planned work.
   - Simple: To make a quick first drawing before starting the finished artwork.
   - _Renaissance masters would cartoon an entire composition before touching the wall._
   - _He cartooned the mural at full scale on butcher paper._

## Origin

This word appeared first in British English, from French carton ("sketch, cardboard, card"), which came from Italian cartone ("cardboard, carton, box"), an augmentative of carta ("paper"). That in turn came from Latin carta ("papyrus, paper"), from Ancient Greek khártēs. It is a doublet of carton and card.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cartoon (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).