charabia

French

Etymology

Attested since at least 1838, originally to denote the incomprehensible talk of Auvergnats.

The further etymology is uncertain. It's believed to possibly mimick a perceived Auvergnat pronunciation of /s/ as /ʃ/. Others theorize it's derived from Occitan charrar (“to chatter”), or Franco-Provençal charabarat (horse market).

A borrowing from Spanish algarabía has been theorized but deemed less likely from a phonetic and geographic perspective.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃa.ʁa.bja/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

charabia m (plural charabias)

1. (colloquial) double Dutch
2. gibberish

   Qu'est-ce que c'est que ce charabia?

   What is this gibberish?

   • 2023, Fabcaro, Didier Conrad, L'iris blanc [Asterix and the White Iris] (Asterix), Vanves: Hachette, →ISBN, page 6:

     Qu'est-ce que c'est que ce charabia, ô Vicévertus, médecin-chef de mes armées ?

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. (obsolete) Auvergnat dialect
4. (obsolete) An Auvergnat person

See also

• chinois
• hébreu

Further reading

• “charabia”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
• charabia – CNTRL

Anagrams

• rabâchai