charlatan

Where does the word "charlatan" come from? It comes from Italian ciarlare, passing through Italian and French before entering English (1610s).

Charlatan’s story begins in Italian: ciarlare meant “to chatter.” To chatter or babble. Within Italian, it grew into ciarlatano by 1500s. A market quack; the word may also recall the travelling medicine sellers of Cerreto in Umbria. From there it passed into French as charlatan by 1500s. A mountebank. It reached English by 1610s as charlatan. First a travelling seller of remedies. Today, charlatan means a person falsely claiming special knowledge or skill.

1. Stage 1 · Italian · medieval ciarlare "to chatter", to chatter or babble.
2. Stage 2 · Italian · 1500s ciarlatano "quack", a market quack; the word may also recall the travelling medicine sellers of Cerreto in Umbria.
3. Stage 3 · French · 1500s charlatan "mountebank", a mountebank.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1610s charlatan "impostor", first a travelling seller of remedies.