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Webster 1913 Edition

Charlatan

Char′la-tan

,
Noun.
[F.
charlatan
, fr. It.
ciarlatano
, fr.
ciarlare
to chartter, prate; of imitative origin; cf. It.
zirlare
to whistle like a thrush.]
One who prates much in his own favor, and makes unwarrantable pretensions; a quack; an impostor; an empiric; a mountebank.

Webster 1828 Edition

Charlatan

CHARLATAN

,
Noun.
One who prates much in his own favor, and makes unwarrantable pretensions to skill; a quack; an empiric; a mountebank.

Definition 2024

charlatan

charlatan

See also: charlatán

English

Noun

charlatan ‎(plural charlatans)

  1. A malicious trickster; a fake person, especially one who deceives for personal profit.

Synonyms

Related terms

Translations

French

Etymology

From Italian. Pejorative meaning first recorded 1668.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʃaʁ.la.tɑ̃/

Noun

charlatan m ‎(plural charlatans, feminine charlatane)

  1. (dated) a street-seller of drugs
  2. charlatan (trickster)

Middle French

Noun

charlatan m (plural charlatans)

  1. a street-seller of drugs

Etymology

From Middle French charlatan, from Old Italian ciarlatano ‎(“quack”), a blend of ciarlatore ‎(“chatterer”) + cerretano ‎(“hawker, quack”, literally “native of Cerreto”) (Cerrato being a village in Umbria, known for its quacks).

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈʃɑɹlətən/

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