Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “mountebankery” come from?

mountebankery (English) comes from English mountebank, from Italian montambanco, from Italian monta-in-banco — mount on bench.

mountebankery (English): The practices of a mountebank; quackery; boastful...

Definitions

  1. The practices of a mountebank; quackery; boastful...

Ancestry of “mountebankery”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmountebankOne who sells dubious medicines; One who sells by...
2Italianmontambancoquack who mounts a bench to hawk his wares
3Italianmonta-in-bancomount on bench
Every word from Italian monta-in-banco →