Rabelaisian

[rab-uh-ley-zee-uhn, -zhuhn]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or suggesting François Rabelais, whose work is characterized by broad, coarse humor and keen satire.

noun

1. a person who admires or studies the works of Rabelais.

Rabelaisian

/ ˌræbəˈleɪzɪən, -ʒən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling the work of Rabelais, esp by broad, often bawdy humour and sharp satire

noun

1. a student or admirer of Rabelais

Other Word Forms

• Rabelaisianism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Rabelaisian¹

First recorded in 1855–60; Rabelais + -ian

Example Sentences

“Then,” he added, “there’s the wordplay, the dance of literary references, the Rabelaisian humor, all packed into what I like to think of as ‘fairy tales for adults.’

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It is superficially a mystery, with a mismatched pair, the reserved physicist Wang Miao and the Rabelaisian cop Shi Qiang, investigating a rash of suicides among high-level scientists.

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This is one of the more tender moments in a tough old-fashioned bildungsroman that meanders more than it moves, with its creator’s customary herks, jerks, digressions and Rabelaisian excesses.

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His first order of business was to settle into the Presidential Suite at the Hotel Loftleidir and order one of his Rabelaisian meals, with bowls and bowls of skyr.

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Professor Longhair’s music, with its looping ragtime-style piano riffs, is the recognized soundtrack to the Rabelaisian event, and he is explicit on this point in “Go to the Mardi Gras.”

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