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Perspective
persiflage
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Persiflage
English
Etymology
From French persiflage, from persifler (“to quiz, tease, mock”), from per- + siffler (“to whistle”), from Latin sībilō (“whistle”).
Pronunciation
Noun
persiflage (countable and uncountable, plural persiflages)
- Good-natured banter; raillery.
- After the third strike he returned to the bench to face the inevitable persiflage from his teammates.
- 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVIII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 208:
- No one can deny Lady Charlotte Bury's assertion, that no well-regulated young female will ever indulge in a species of amusement so improper as flirtation; but it must be admitted, that having a pleasant partner is preferable to not dancing, and that a little persiflage, a little raillery, a little flattery, go far to make a partner pleasant.
- Frivolous, lighthearted discussion of a topic.
- Polite dinner calls for persiflage rather than in-depth possibly offensive discussion.
Synonyms
Translations
good-natured banter; raillery
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frivolous, lighthearted discussion of a topic
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Anagrams
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Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from French persiflage.
Pronunciation
Noun
persiflage m (plural persiflages)
- lighthearted caricature or mockery, as in a comedy sketch
- (archaic) ridiculing mispresenting or misconstruing
Related terms
French
Alternative forms
- persifflage (1990 spelling)
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
persiflage m (plural persiflages)
- ridicule or malicious mockery made under the guise of good-natured raillery
Descendants
- → Dutch: persiflage
- → English: persiflage
- → German: Persiflage
- → Polish: persyflaż
- → Swedish: persiflage
Further reading
- “persiflage”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
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