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rib·ald Audio pronunciation of "ribald" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (rbld, rbôld)
adj.
Characterized by or indulging in vulgar, lewd humor.
n.

A vulgar, lewdly funny person.

[From Middle English ribaud, ribald person, from Old French, from riber, to be wanton, of Germanic origin. See wer-2 in Indo-European Roots.]

ribald

\Rib"ald\, a. Low; base; mean; filthy; obscene.

The busy day, Waked by the lark, hath roused the ribald crows. --Shak.

ribald

\Rib"ald\, n./ [OE. ribald, ribaud, F. ribaud, OF. ribald, ribault, LL. ribaldus, of German origin; cf. OHG hr[=i]pa prostitute. For the ending -ald cf. E. Herald.] A low, vulgar, brutal, foul-mouthed wretch; a lewd fellow. --Spenser. Pope.

Ribald was almost a class name in the feudal system . . . He was his patron's parasite, bulldog, and tool . . . It is not to be wondered at that the word rapidly became a synonym for everything ruffianly and brutal. --Earle.

ribald

adj : humorously vulgar; "bawdy songs"; "off-color jokes"; "ribald language" [syn: bawdy, off-color] n : a ribald person; someone who uses vulgar and offensive language



fag·got2 Audio pronunciation of "faggot" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (fgt)
n. Offensive Slang

Used as a disparaging term for a homosexual man.

[Perhaps from faggot, variant of fagot, bundle, lump, old woman.]

fag·ot also fag·got Audio pronunciation of "faggot" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (fgt)
n.

1. A bundle of twigs, sticks, or branches bound together.
2. A bundle of pieces of iron or steel to be welded or hammered into bars.

tr.v. fag·ot·ed, also fag·got·ed fag·ot·ing, fag·got·ing fag·ots, fag·gots

1. To bind into a fagot; bundle.
2. To decorate with fagoting.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Old Provençal, possibly from Vulgar Latin *facus, from Greek phakelos, bundle.]

faggot

n 1: offensive terms for an openly homosexual man [syn: fagot, fag, fairy, nance, pansy, queen, queer, poof, poove, pouf] 2: a bundle of sticks and branches bound together [syn: fagot] v 1: ornament or join (fabric) by faggot stitch; "He fagotted the blouse for his wife" [syn: fagot] 2: fasten together rods of iron in order to heat or weld them [syn: fagot] 3: bind or tie up in or as if in a faggot; "faggot up the sticks" [syn: fagot, faggot up]