Goliard
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A wandering student of the 12th or 13th century, whose convivial lifestyle included minstrelsy and a typical satirical Latin poetry. historical
"1951, F. Brittain, The Mediaeval Latin and Romance Lyric to A.D. 1300, 2nd Edition, Reprinted 2009, page 16, The Goliard, indeed, can be regarded as a sub-species of the jongleur, and evidence exists that the personnel of the two classes was to some extent interchangeable. […] The anonymous Goliard known as the Archpoet⁽¹¹⁸⁾ was of higher social standing than most of his confreres and, as a poet, one of the greatest of his class."
- 2 Alternative form of Goliard. alt-of, alternative
- 3 a wandering scholar in medieval Europe; famed for intemperance and riotous behavior and the composition of satirical and ribald Latin songs wordnet
Example
More examples"1951, F. Brittain, The Mediaeval Latin and Romance Lyric to A.D. 1300, 2nd Edition, Reprinted 2009, page 16, The Goliard, indeed, can be regarded as a sub-species of the jongleur, and evidence exists that the personnel of the two classes was to some extent interchangeable. […] The anonymous Goliard known as the Archpoet⁽¹¹⁸⁾ was of higher social standing than most of his confreres and, as a poet, one of the greatest of his class."
Etymology
Uncertain, possibly from Old French goliard (“glutton”); compare Italian goliardo (“university student”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.