mountebank
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mountebank
- /ˈmaʊntəˌbæŋk/
Where it comes from
From archaic Italian montambanco (“quack who mounts a bench to hawk his wares”), contracted from monta-in-banco (“mount on bench”).
noun mountebanks
- One who sells dubious medicines. She is abus'd, ſtolne from me, and corrupted / By Spels, and Medicines, bought of Mountebanks
-
One who sells by deception; a con artist.
Donne was a mountebank who wrapped up his lack of meaning in hard words.
Similar: charlatan, conman, fake, quack, bristler, bunco artist, bunco-steerer, chiseler, con artist, confidence artist, confidence trickster, flimflammer
- Any boastful, false pretender. They ſay this towne is full of coſenage: / As nimble Iuglers that deceiue the eie: / Darke working Sorcerers that change the minde: / Soule-killing Witches that deforme the bodie: / Diſguiſed Cheaters, prating Mountebankes, / And manie ſuch like liberties of ſinne:
- An acrobat.
verb mountebanks · mountebanking · mountebanked
- To act as a mountebank.
- To cheat by boasting and false pretenses. Ile Mountebanke their Loues, / Cogge their Hearts from them,
Translations
Talk about this word "mountebank." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mountebank. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. mountebank. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mountebank "mountebank." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mountebank.Cite this
@misc{mountebank_2026,
title = {mountebank},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mountebank},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
