Falstaffian

American  

[fawl-staf-ee-uhn] / fɔlˈstæf i ən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or having the qualities of Falstaff, especially his robust, bawdy humor, good-natured rascality, and brazen braggadocio.

   Falstaffian wit.

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Falstaffian British  

/ fɔːlˈstɑːfɪən /

adjective

1. jovial, plump, and dissolute

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Etymology

Origin of Falstaffian

First recorded in 1800–10; Falstaff + -ian

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Falstaffian

Memorable figures include the town barber and perpetual bachelor, Jayber Crow, and the Falstaffian 300-pound farmer Ptolemy Proudfoot, who lives happily with his diminutive wife, Miss Minnie.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025

For a performer who was so comfortably Falstaffian, Gambon was remarkably supple in his emotional range, moving from tyrannical to tender with breathtaking ease.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023

There’s a lovely and extended homage here to the Falstaffian food writer and historian Josh Ozersky, a friend of Platt’s who died in 2015.

From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2019

I truly love this one, starring a Falstaffian father whose child is wearing Hulk hands as they both sit on the kid’s bed during story time.

From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2018

The head keeper of the menagerie I saw but once or twice; he was of Falstaffian proportions, with a clear and steady masculine eye and a demeanor of genial and complacent authority.

From The Subterranean Brotherhood by Julian Hawthorne