different between earthy vs ribald

English

Etymology

From Middle English erthy, equivalent to earth +? -y.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???.?i/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /???i/
• Rhymes: -??(?)?i
• Hyphenation: earthy

Adjective

earthy (comparative earthier, superlative earthiest)

1. Resembling dirt or soil (i.e. earth).

   The earthy smell of fresh turned loam told me the farmer had started plowing this morning, the definitive sign of spring for me.

2. Down-to-earth, not artificial, natural.

   She was an earthy soul, the salt of the earth as they say of such rural folk, untarnished by false civilization.
3. (figuratively) Coarse and unrefined, crude.

   earthy humour

4. Like or resembling the earth or of the earth.
5. Covered with earth (mud, dirt).
   • 1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

     He was wet through with the dew and quite earthy from diving into the burrows the Boy had made for him in the flower bed, and Nana grumbled as she rubbed him off with a corner of her apron.

Synonyms

• terreous (obsolete)

Derived terms

• earthily
• earthiness

Translations

Anagrams

• Hayter, Thayer, aethyr, hearty, yearth

English

Alternative forms

• ribauld (rare)

Etymology

From Middle English ribald, from Old French ribaud, ribauld (“rogue, scoundrel”) ( > English ribaud), from Old French riber (“to be licentious”), from Frankish *r?ban (“to copulate, be in heat”, literally “to rub”), from Proto-Germanic *wr?ban? (“to turn, twist, writhe”), from Proto-Indo-European *werp-, *werb- (“to turn, twist”) + Old French -aud, from Frankish *-wald.

Related to Old High German r?ban (“to rub”), German reiben (“to rub”), Dutch wrijven (“to rub”). Compare also Old High German hr?ba (“prostitute”). See also English wrap.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???b.?ld/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /???b.?ld/, /??a?.b?ld/

Adjective

ribald (comparative more ribald, superlative most ribald)

1. Coarsely, vulgarly, or lewdly amusing; referring to sexual matters in a rude or irreverent way.
   • 1693, Thomas Urquhart and Peter Anthony Motteux (Trans.), François Rabelais' Gargantua an Pantagruel, The Third Book, Chapter XXVII:

     [L]et no zealous Christian trust the rogue,—the filthy ribald rascal is a liar.

   • 1875, May 15, Anonymous, "Mr. Carl Schurz and the Democratic Party", Harper's Weekly:

     But when he died the "Reform Democracy" instinctively returned to its vomit of ribald insult.

   • 1888, Ambrose Pierce, "A Fruitless Assignment", Can Such Things Be? (Pub. 1893):

     [T]he curious crowd had collected in the street […] , with here and there a scoffer uttering his incredulity and courage with scornful remarks or ribald cries.

   • 1997 Chuck Eddy, The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' roll: A Misguided Tour Through Popular Music (p.22)

     Anyway up against Reba McEntire, '60s-rock-bred big city escapee K.T. Oslin comes off both more ribald ("Younger Men") and prouder of the bras and bridges she used to burn ("'8s Ladies") in her best country hits.

Translations

Noun

ribald (plural ribalds)

1. An individual who is filthy or vulgar in nature.
   • 1483 [1900 edition], William Caxton (Trans.), Jacobus de Voragine, "Life of S. Paul the first Hermit", The Golden Legend:

     After, he made an harlot, a ribald, come to him alone for to touch his members and his body, to move to lechery.

Related terms

• ribaldry

Translations

References

Further reading

• Ribald in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• bridal, labrid