Meanings
plural ribaldries
- countableuncountableJoking or humorous language or behaviour used in a vulgar or lewd fashion.
His jargon of slang was a continuous joy and surprise to them. His gestures, his strange poses, his frank ribaldry of tongue and principle fascinated them.
1903 February, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “Hygeia at the Solito”, in Everybody’s Magazine, volume VIII, number 2, New York, N.Y.: John Wanamaker, →ISSN, page 175, column 13 more examples
Playes are the nurseries of vice, the bawd, / That thorow the senses steales our hearts abroad, / Tainting our eares with obscæne bawdery, / Lascivious words, and wanton ribaulry.
1629, Fra[ncis] Lenton, “Section XIV. The Young Gallant’s Whirlgig.”, in James Orchard Halliwell, editor, The Marriage of Wit and Wisdom, an Ancient Interlude. […], London: […] Shakespeare Society, published 1846, →OCLC, page 129Sometimes these sagas and anecdotes are touched with ribaldry, or with excessive obscenity, according to the times, and sometimes they are rooted in obscure but still verifiable deistic concepts.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 88I remember girls with men's muscles flinging fish baskets while they yelled ribaldries at each other, and fishermen strutting among them in their oilskins, too grand to be bothered with anyone but themselves.
1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Frenchribaulderie
- Middle Englishribaldrie
- Englishribaldry
From Middle English ribaldrie, from Old French ribaulderie, ribauderie, equivalent to ribald + -ry.
More words from Middle English, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek εὐτραπελία
- εὐτραπελία (eutrapelía)humorous language or behaviour
Bulgarian сквернословие, цинизъм
- сквернословие (skvernoslovie)humorous language or behaviour
- цинизъм (cinizăm)humorous language or behaviour
Chinese Mandarin 下流語言 /下流语言, 下流行為 /下流行为
- 下流語言 /下流语言 (xiàliú yǔyán)humorous language or behaviour
- 下流行為 /下流行为 (xiàliú xíngwéi)humorous language or behaviour
Dutch schunnigheid
- schunnigheidhumorous language or behaviour
Finnish pelleily
- pelleilyhumorous language or behaviour
French grivoiserie, paillardise
- grivoiseriehumorous language or behaviour
- paillardisehumorous language or behaviour
- polissonneriehumorous language or behaviour
- ribauderiehumorous language or behaviour
German Possenspiel, Zote
- Possenspielhumorous language or behaviour
- Zotehumorous language or behaviour
- Kramanzenhumorous language or behaviour
- Gaukelwerkhumorous language or behaviour
- Anzüglichkeithumorous language or behaviour
Italian oscenità, ribalderia
- oscenitàhumorous language or behaviour
- ribalderiahumorous language or behaviour
Polish sprośność
- sprośnośćhumorous language or behaviour
Russian понты́
- понты́ (pontý)humorous language or behaviour
Spanish procacidad, procacidades
- procacidadhumorous language or behaviour
- procacidadeshumorous language or behaviour
Cite this entry
ribaldry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ribaldry
“ribaldry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ribaldry. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ribaldry,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ribaldry.
Source: ribaldry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.