This story might be titled “Some Words Have a Reputation to Live Up To,” Part 2 (Part 3 will soon follow). While tracing the convoluted history of charade, I promised to devote some space to charlatan. The element char- unites them, and in scholarly works they have frequently been mentioned in one breath. Clearly, a charlatan knows how to dupe the public, and bringing him to book is hard. It proved to be equally hard to discover the origin of the word. Opinions on the etymology of charlatan are divided. Some reliable dictionaries say bluntly: “Of unknown origin,” while others offer, albeit cautiously, what seems to be a good hypothesis. (more…)
0 Comments on How the Protocharlatan Escaped Justice as of 1/1/1990
Add a Comment