The up and coming rapper frequently shocks his audience with his ribald song lyrics.
An off-color and irreverent comment about sex is an example of something that would be described as a ribald comment.
MLA Style
APA Style
Origin of ribald
Middle English ribaude from Old French ribaud, debauchee from riber, to be wanton from Old High German riban, to copulate, literally , to rub from Indo-European an unverified form wreip-, to twist from source Classical Greek rhip?, a throw, rush, storm
MLA Style
APA Style
adjective
noun
Origin of ribald
From Middle English ribaud ribald person from Old French from riber to be wanton from Middle High German rīban to rub, be in heat, copulate from Old High German; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.
MLA Style
APA Style
(comparative more ribald, superlative most ribald)
(plural ribalds)
From Middle English, from Old French ribaud, ribauld (“rogue, scoundrel") (> French ribaud), from riber (“to be licentious"), from Frankish *rÄ«ben (“to copulate, be in heat", literally “to rub"), from Proto-Germanic *wrÄ«banÄ… (“to turn, twist"), from Proto-Indo-European *werp-, *werb- (“to turn, twist") + Old French -auld, from Old Frankish *-wald. Cognate with Old High German rÄ«ban (“to rub"), Dutch wrijven (“to rub"). Compare also Old High German hrÄ«ba (“prostitute"). More at wrap.
MLA Style
APA Style
