Etymology

folderol

F4O1L1D2E1R1O1L1

Today it means: Nonsense or foolishness. Full definition →

Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

Originally a nonsense refrain in songs, since circa 1701, as "fal, al, deral!", and 1820, used to make the song longer without adding more meaningful content (see non-lexical vocables in music). Compare falleri, fallera, extended as falleralla or fallerallera, in Swedish and German songs.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.