An archaic or foreign (especially Italian or Spanish) term for caricature, meaning a funny or exaggerated drawing of a person.
From Italian 'caricatura,' derived from 'caricare' meaning 'to load' or 'to exaggerate.' The term traveled through European languages as the art form became popular in Renaissance Italy.
The Italian word 'caricare' (to load or overload) is the perfect root—a caricature is literally 'loading' someone's features with exaggeration, emphasizing what makes them unique or funny!
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