ribald
Use Ribald in a sentence
əld; adjective
1.
vulgar or indecent in speech, language, etc.; coarsely mocking, abusive, or irreverent; scurrilous.
noun
2.
a ribald person.
Origin:
1200–50; Middle English ribald, ribaud (noun) < Old French ribau(l)d, equivalent to rib(er) to be licentious (< Old High German rīben to copulate, be in heat, literally, rub) + -au(l)d, -alt < Frankish *-wald a suffix in personal names, derivative of *walden to rule; compare parallel development of -ard
1200–50; Middle English ribald, ribaud (noun) < Old French ribau(l)d, equivalent to rib(er) to be licentious (< Old High German rīben to copulate, be in heat, literally, rub) + -au(l)d, -alt < Frankish *-wald a suffix in personal names, derivative of *walden to rule; compare parallel development of -ard
Related forms
rib·ald·ly, adverb
Synonyms
1. indecent, obscene, gross.
1. indecent, obscene, gross.
Antonyms
1. pure.
1. pure.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To ribald
00:10
Ribald
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
ribald (ˈrɪbəld) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | coarse, obscene, or licentious, usually in a humorous or mocking way |
| —n | |
| 2. | a ribald person |
| [C13: from Old French ribauld, from riber to live licentiously, of Germanic origin] | |
| 'ribaldly | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
ribald
c.1240, "a rogue, ruffian, rascall, scoundrell, varlet, filthie fellow" [Cotgrave], from O.Fr. ribalt, of uncertain origin, perhaps from riber "be wanton, sleep around," from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. riban "be wanton," lit. "to rub," possibly from the common euphemistic use of "rub" words to mean "have
sex"), from P.Gmc. *wribanan, from PIE base *wer- "to turn, bend" (see versus). The adj. is attested from 1500, from the noun. Ribaldry is recorded from c.1300.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The change from teeth to dentures struck my brother and me as both grave and ribald.
When he's relaxed and unguarded, as unguarded as he ever gets, he's ribald and funny.
It is simply a ribald wallow in the cheapness of an ugly phase of life.
Well, there is little of the ribald humor and catcalls often heard on construction sites.
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