Etymograph

English

Goliard

Goliard may come from Old French goliard ‘glutton’.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400goliard‘glutton’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1903Goliard

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400goliard‘glutton’uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1903Goliard

Earliest quotation: 1903, Raymond MacDonald Alden, English Verse […]: “There it was more commonly trochaic than iambic, as…”

The story

Uncertain, possibly from Old French goliard (‘glutton’); compare Italian goliardo (‘university student’).uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.

Every English word from Old French goliard

Today it means

noun A wandering student of the 12th or 13th century, whose convivial lifestyle included minstrelsy and a typical satirical Latin poetry.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Old French goliard / Goliard

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