saltimbanco

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/sæltɪmˈbæŋkəʊ/

noun

A quack doctor, a fraud.

Similar
mountebankquack
OriginItalian saltimbanco →
Scrabble 17
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Meanings

nounsaltimbanco (plural saltimbancos)

plural saltimbancos

  1. A quack doctor, a fraud.

    Synonyms: mountebank, quack

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA quack doctor, a fraud.

Similar
mountebankquack
Also see
con artistgriftermountebanksnake oil salesmansneak

Origin

  1. Italiansaltimbanco
  2. Englishsaltimbanco

Borrowed from Italian saltimbanco. Used thus in English because of the association with street performers, seen by the settled population in English-speaking culture as not to be trusted. A more usual and more accurate English word, derived from similar sources, is mountebank.

More words from Italian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

saltimbanco. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saltimbanco

MLA

“saltimbanco.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saltimbanco. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “saltimbanco,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saltimbanco.

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