ribald









ribald


adjective

  1. vulgar or indecent in speech, language, etc.; coarsely mocking, abusive, or irreverent; scurrilous.

noun

  1. a ribald person.

adjective

  1. coarse, obscene, or licentious, usually in a humorous or mocking way

noun

  1. a ribald person
adj.

c.1500, from ribald, ribaud (n.), mid-13c., “a rogue, ruffian, rascall, scoundrell, varlet, filthie fellow” [Cotgrave], from Old French ribaut, ribalt “rogue, scoundrel, lewd lover,” also as an adjective, “wanton, depraved, dissolute, licentious,” of uncertain origin, perhaps (with suffix -ald) from riber “be wanton, sleep around, dally amorously,” from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German riban “be wanton,” literally “to rub,” possibly from the common euphemistic use of “rub” words to mean “have sex”), from Proto-Germanic *wribanan, from PIE root *wer- (3) “to turn, bend” (see versus).

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