RIB-uld

Definition

(adjective) Referring to sexual matters in an amusingly coarse or irreverent way; humorously vulgar or indecent.

Example

The ribald humor in the play had the audience howling, even as a few people in the front row pretended to be scandalized.

Word Origin

From Old French ribaud, meaning “a rogue or scoundrel” — derived from the Old High German hriban, meaning “to be wanton.” In medieval France and England, ribaud referred specifically to low-class vagabonds and mercenaries who followed armies and were associated with disreputable behavior. By the time the word settled into English in the 14th century it had narrowed from describing a type of person to describing a type of humor — coarse, irreverent, and cheerfully indecent.