ribald
pronunciation
How to pronounce ribald in British English:
UK [ˈrɪbld]
How to pronounce ribald in American English:
US [ˈrɪbəld, ˈraɪˌbɔld]
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- Noun:
- a ribald person; someone who uses vulgar and offensive language
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- Adjective:
- humorously vulgar
Word Origin
- ribald
- ribald: [13] Ribald was originally a noun, a derogatory term meaning ‘retainer or dependent of low status’. It was borrowed from Old French ribaut, a derivative of the verb riber ‘sleep around’. This is turn went back to Old High German rīban ‘rub’, hence ‘copulate’. It was not used as an adjective until the early 16th century.
- ribald (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 (compare 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).
Example
- 1. Pointed a ribald finger at me in the darkness
- 2. " Fit for all readers , listeners , or audiences ; not ribald or obscene . "
- 3. All I could hear were exclamations of ribald encouragement .
- 4. After the fourth whisky the president became ribald .
- 5. A ribald person ; someone who uses vulgar and offensive language .