What does "jongleur" mean?

An itinerant entertainer in medieval England and France; roles included song, music, acrobatics etc.; a troubadour.

How do you pronounce "jongleur"?

Pronounced //ˈd͡ʒɑŋ.ɡlɚ//.

Common synonyms include: folk singer, arch-poet, ballad maker, ballad singer, balladeer, balladmonger.

//ˈd͡ʒɑŋ.ɡlɚ// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
An itinerant entertainer in medieval England and France; roles included song, music, acrobatics etc.; a troubadour.
"vivacity and picturesqueness of the jongleur's verse"
2
a singer of folk songs wordnet
3
A juggler; a conjurer.
4
A mountebank.

"vivacity and picturesqueness of the jongleur's verse"

Borrowed from French jongleur. Doublet of juggler.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.