charlatan French · revision 15632

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1572, Amyot|origins=it cerretano}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃaʁ.la.tɑ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''charlatan''' ''m'' (plural charlatans, feminine charlatane)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|ciarlatano]] (15th century),^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary) a cross between [[m|it|cerretano]], properly “an inhabitant of Cerreto”, a village near Spoleto whose people often sold drugs in market places, and [[m|it|ciarlare|t=to chatter]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(REW 1935)^(FEW|2, 607a) The verb is an expressive formation like [[oc|charrà]].^(DHLF 1992) Littré derived the word from ''ciarlare'' alone.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Amyot's Plutarch (1572) lists “charlatans, triacleurs et basteleurs” among mountebanks and conjurors;^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF date the word to 1543.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word first named the travelling seller who drew a crowd with patter, sold remedies and pulled teeth in fairs and squares.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) From La Fontaine (1668) it also means any impostor exploiting public credulity, especially a quack doctor or a political demagogue.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) In African French it has no negative value and names a diviner or healer.^(DHLF 1992)^(Larousse)

+

+ Derivatives are ''charlatanerie'' (1575) and ''charlatanisme'' (1736).^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 15th century – Italian ''ciarlatano''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1572 – Amyot uses ''charlatan'' for a mountebank.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1575 – ''Charlatanerie''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1668 – La Fontaine uses it for an impostor.^(TLFi)

+ * 1736 – ''Charlatanisme''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|charlatan]], someone who exploits people's [[m|en|credulity]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # A [[m|en|quack]], a healer or doctor claiming false cures.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(historical)'' A travelling seller of remedies at fairs; a [[m|en|mountebank]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(Africa)'' A diviner or traditional healer.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[charlatanerie]]

+ * [[charlatanisme]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|charlatan]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}