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Origin and history of ribald

ribald(adj.)

"offensively abusive, wantonly irreverent, coarse, obscene," of persons, conduct, speech, etc., c. 1500, from obsolete noun ribald, ribaud "a rogue, ruffian, rascall, scoundrell, varlet, filthie fellow" [Cotgrave], mid-13c. (late 12c. as a surname), attested from late 14c. in the sense of "one who uses offensive or impious language, one who jests irreverently."

This is from Old French ribaut, ribalt "rogue, scoundrel, lewd lover," also as an adjective, "wanton, depraved, dissolute, licentious," a word of uncertain origin, perhaps (with suffix -ald) from riber "be wanton, sleep around, dally amorously," from a Germanic source (compare Old High German riban "be wanton," literally "to rub," possibly from the common euphemistic use of "rub" words in venery, from Proto-Germanic *wribanan from PIE root *wer- (2) "to turn, bend").

Other early adjectival forms were ribaldous "riotous, unruly" (c. 1400); ribaldy (early 15c.).

also from c. 1500

Entries linking to ribald

gambol(n.)

"frolic, merrymaking," 1590s, earlier gambolde "a skipping, a leap or spring" (1510s), from French gambade (15c.), from Late Latin gamba "horse's hock or leg," from Greek kampē "a bending;" see jamb. The form was altered perhaps by confusion with the formerly common ending -aud, -ald (as in ribald).

ribaldry(n.)

late 14c., ribaudrie, "debauchery, bawdy speech, obscenity or coarseness of language," from Old French ribauderie "debauchery, licentiousness," from ribalt (see ribald). An earlier noun was ribaudie (late 13c.), from Old French ribaudie.

*wer-(2)

Proto-Indo-European root forming words meaning "to turn, bend."

It might form all or part of: adverse; anniversary; avert; awry; controversy; converge; converse (adj.) "exact opposite;" convert; diverge; divert; evert; extroversion; extrovert; gaiter; introrse; introvert; invert; inward; malversation; obverse; peevish; pervert; prose; raphe; reverberate; revert; rhabdomancy; rhapsody; rhombus; ribald; sinistrorse; stalwart; subvert; tergiversate; transverse; universe; verbena; verge (v.1) "tend, incline;" vermeil; vermicelli; vermicular; vermiform; vermin; versatile; verse (n.) "poetry;" version; verst; versus; vertebra; vertex; vertigo; vervain; vortex; -ward; warp; weird; worm; worry; worth (adj.) "significant, valuable, of value;" worth (v.) "to come to be;" wrangle; wrap; wrath; wreath; wrench; wrest; wrestle; wriggle; wring; wrinkle; wrist; writhe; wrong; wroth; wry.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit vartate "turns round, rolls;" Avestan varet- "to turn;" Hittite hurki- "wheel;" Greek rhatane "stirrer, ladle;" Latin vertere (frequentative versare) "to turn, turn back, be turned; convert, transform, translate; be changed," versus "turned toward or against;" Old Church Slavonic vrŭteti "to turn, roll," Russian vreteno "spindle, distaff;" Lithuanian verčiu, versti "to turn;" German werden, Old English weorðan "to become;" Old English -weard "toward," originally "turned toward," weorthan "to befall," wyrd "fate, destiny," literally "what befalls one;" Welsh gwerthyd "spindle, distaff;" Old Irish frith "against."