persiflage

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UK/ˈpɜː.sɪ.flɑːʒ/US/ˈpɝː.sɪ.flɑːʒ/

noun

Good-natured banter; raillery.

“Polite dinner calls for persiflage rather than in-depth possibly offensive discussion.”

Similar
banterraillery
OriginFrench persiflage ← Latin sībilō →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounpersiflage (countable and uncountable, plural persiflages)

plural persiflages

  1. countableuncountableGood-natured banter; raillery.

    After the third strike he returned to the bench to face the inevitable persiflage from his teammates.

    1 more example

    No one can deny Lady Charlotte Bury's assertion, that no well-regulated young female will ever indulge in a species of amusement so improper as flirtation; but it must be admitted, that having a pleasant partner is preferable to not dancing, and that a little persiflage, a little raillery, a little flattery, go far to make a partner pleasant.

    1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVIII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 208

    Synonyms: banter, raillery

  2. countableuncountableFrivolous, lighthearted discussion of a topic.

    Polite dinner calls for persiflage rather than in-depth possibly offensive discussion.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounGood-natured banter; raillery.

Similar
banterraillery

Origin

  1. Latinsībilō“whistle”
  2. Frenchpersiflage
  3. Englishpersiflage

From French persiflage, from persifler (“to quiz, tease, mock”), from per- + siffler (“to whistle”), from Latin sībilō (“whistle”).

More words from French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian закачки
  • закачки (zakački)good-natured banter; raillery
French badinerie, persiflage
  • badineriegood-natured banter; raillery
  • persiflagegood-natured banter; raillery
  • plaisanteriegood-natured banter; raillery
German Persiflage
  • Persiflagegood-natured banter; raillery
Hungarian csipkelődés, élcelődés
  • csipkelődésgood-natured banter; raillery
  • élcelődésgood-natured banter; raillery
  • ugratásgood-natured banter; raillery
  • persziflázsgood-natured banter; raillery
  • persziflázsfrivolous, lighthearted discussion of a topic
Russian подшу́чивание
  • подшу́чивание (podšúčivanije)good-natured banter; raillery
Cite this entry
APA

persiflage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/persiflage

MLA

“persiflage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/persiflage. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “persiflage,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/persiflage.

Source: persiflage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.