σαρδάνιος

A. bitter or scornful smiles or laughter, μείδησε δὲ θυμῷ σαρδάνιον μάλα τοῖον Od. 20.302; so ἀνεκάγχασε μάλα σαρδάνιον Pl. R. 337a; ὑπομειδιάσας σαρδάνιον Plb. 18.7.6; τί μάταια γελᾷς . . ; τάχα που σαρδάνιον γελάσεις AP 5.178 (Mel.); πεφύλαξο σίνεσθαι, μὴ καὶ ς. γελάσῃς APl. 4.86; ridere γέλωτα σαρδάνιον Cic. Fam. 7.25.1. (Perh. connected with σεσηρώς, grinning, sneering, Sch.Pl. l.c.; cf. σαρδάζων· μετὰ πικρίας γελῶν, Phot., Suid. —The common expl. given of this laugh was that it resembled the effect produced by a Sardinian plant (Ranunculus Sardoüs, Sardinian crowfoot, called σαρδάνη by Tz. ad Hes. Op. 59, σαρδόνιον by Ps.-Dsc. 2.175, D.Chr. 32.99) which when eaten screwed up the face of the eater, Paus. 10.17.13, Sch.Pl. l.c., Phot., Serv.ad Verg.Ecl. 7.41; whence later authors wrote σαρδόνιον or σαρδώνιον (from Σαρδώ) for σαρδάνιον, Ps.-Dsc. l.c., D.Chr. l.c., Luc. Asin. 24, etc., σαρδώνιος γέλως and ‐ωνία πόα Dsc. Alex. 14, and σαρδόνιον appears as a v.l. in Hom. and Pl.; hence our form sardonic; this and other explanations are given in Timae. 29, Zen. 5.85, Tz.ad Lyc. 796, Sch. Pl. l.c.)