ribaldry

American  

[rib-uhl-dree, rahy-buhl-dree] / ˈrɪb əl dri, ˈraɪ bəl dri /

noun

1. ribald character, as of language; scurrility.

2. ribald speech.

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ribaldry British  

/ ˈrɪbəldrɪ /

noun

1. ribald language or behaviour

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Etymology

Origin of ribaldry

1300–50; Middle English ribaudrie < Old French. See ribald, -ry

Explanation

Ribaldry is a kind of humor that's slightly inappropriate or off-color. You might want to keep your friends' ribaldry in check if your sweet old grandmother suddenly shows up at your house. When people tell bawdy or vulgar jokes (like bathroom humor, or jokes about sex), that's ribaldry. Imagine a rowdy sailors' bar or even a scene in a Shakespeare comedy, and there's bound to be some ribaldry. This noun comes to us by way of the adjective ribald, "bawdy or lewd," from the Old French ribaut, "rogue or scoundrel."

Example Sentences

Marriages.But enough of this Ribaldry, let us turn away to more honest Practices.

From An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies Together with an Account of the Detaining in Captivity the Author and Divers other Englishmen Now Living There, and of the Author's Miraculous Escape by Knox, Robert