macaronic

American  

[mak-uh-ron-ik] / ˌmæk əˈrɒn ɪk /

adjective

1. composed of or characterized by Latin words mixed with vernacular words or non-Latin words given Latin endings.

2. composed of a mixture of languages.

3. mixed; jumbled.

   His bureau drawer was a macaronic hodgepodge of unmatched socks.

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noun

1. macaronics, macaronic language.

2. a macaronic verse or other piece of writing.

macaronic British  

/ ˌmækəˈrɒnɪk /

adjective

1. (of verse) characterized by a mixture of vernacular words jumbled together with Latin words or Latinized words or with words from one or more other foreign languages

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noun

1. (often plural) macaronic verse

Other Word Forms

• macaronically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of macaronic

First recorded in 1605–15; from New Latin macarōnicus, from dialectal Italian maccarone (from the association of macaroni as peasant food with the vernacular language of peasants) + Latin -icus; see origin at macaroni, -ic

Explanation

Something that's macaronic uses elements, like inflections or specific words, from another language. If you insert Latin words and phrases into your everyday speech, you can call it macaronic. The adjective macaronic most often describes a satirical writing style that adds Latin endings to everyday language, or uses puns made from a combination of two languages. The word's root is the dialectal Italian maccarone, "pasty food," or "dumpling," thought of as "peasant food," reflecting its sometimes derogatory intent. Macaronic writing is often funny, showing up in humorous poems, novels, and films. In speech, this style is sometimes called "code-switching."

Example Sentences

He is fed a macaronic tangle of lines that would have choked the poet prince.

From Time Magazine Archive

A similar story is told of the Duke of Vendome, who answered in this sort of macaronic Latin the classical expostulations of a German convent against the imposition of a contribution.

From Quentin Durward by Scott, Walter, Sir

The piece concludes with the ceremonial in macaronic Latin.

From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham

Some amusing anecdotes are told, such as the well-known one about the lofty dignitary's macaronic injunction, "Exclude canem, et shut the door"; and another of a tutor's dismal flunk on faba.—Harv.

From A Collection of College Words and Customs by Hall, Benjamin Homer

The absurdities of the conventional pastoral did not, indeed, pass altogether unnoticed in their own day, for early in the sixteenth century Teofilo Folengo composed his Zanitonella in macaronic verse.

From Pastoral Poetry and Pastoral Drama A Literary Inquiry, with Special Reference to the Pre-Restoration Stage in England by Greg, Walter W.