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charlatanish

 - 4 dictionary results

char⋅la⋅tan

[shahr-luh-tn]
–noun
a person who pretends to more knowledge or skill than he or she possesses; quack.

Origin:
1595–1605; < MF < It ciarlatano, equiv. to ciarla(tore) chatterer (deriv. of ciarlare to chatter; from imit. root) + (cerre)tano hawker, quack, lit., native of Cerreto, a village in Umbria, known for its quacks


char⋅la⋅tan⋅ic [shahr-luh-tan-ik] , char⋅la⋅tan⋅i⋅cal, char⋅la⋅tan⋅ish, char⋅la⋅tan⋅is⋅tic, adjective
char⋅la⋅tan⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb


impostor, mountebank, fraud, fake, phony.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

charlatan 
1611, from It. ciarlatano "a quack," from ciarlare "to prate, babble," from ciarla "chat, prattle," perhaps imitative of ducks' quacking.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: char·la·tan
Pronunciation: 'shär-l&t-&n
Function: noun
: QUACK <charlatans killing their patients with empirical procedures>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

charlatan char·la·tan (shär'lə-tən)
n.
A person fraudulently claiming knowledge and skills not possessed.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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