Etymologically
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charlatan

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 17:27. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʃaʁ.la.tɑ̃/[1]

Forms

charlatan m (plural charlatans, feminine charlatane)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian ciarlatano (15th century),[2][3][4][1] a cross between cerretano, properly “an inhabitant of Cerreto”, a village near Spoleto whose people often sold drugs in market places, and ciarlare (“to chatter”).[2][3][5][6][7] The verb is an expressive formation like Occitan charrà.[3] Littré derived the word from ciarlare alone.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Amyot's Plutarch (1572) lists “charlatans, triacleurs et basteleurs” among mountebanks and conjurors;[2][8] Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF date the word to 1543.[5][9]

Semantic evolution

The word first named the travelling seller who drew a crowd with patter, sold remedies and pulled teeth in fairs and squares.[3][10] From La Fontaine (1668) it also means any impostor exploiting public credulity, especially a quack doctor or a political demagogue.[2][3][9] In African French it has no negative value and names a diviner or healer.[3][11]

Derivatives are charlatanerie (1575) and charlatanisme (1736).[3][5]

Timeline

  • 15th century – Italian ciarlatano.[2][3]
  • 1572 – Amyot uses charlatan for a mountebank.[2][3]
  • 1575 – Charlatanerie.[3][5]
  • 1668 – La Fontaine uses it for an impostor.[2]
  • 1736 – Charlatanisme.[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A charlatan, someone who exploits people's credulity.[10][11]
  2. A quack, a healer or doctor claiming false cures.[10][11]
  3. (historical) A travelling seller of remedies at fairs; a mountebank.[10][11]
  4. (Africa) A diviner or traditional healer.[11][3]

Word family

  • charlatanerie
  • charlatanisme

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 607a
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)