fabliau

noun

fab·​li·​au ˈfa-blē-ˌō 

plural fabliaux ˈfa-blē-ˌō(z) 

: a short, usually comic, frankly coarse, and often cynical tale in verse popular especially in the 12th and 13th centuries

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, from Picard form of Old French fablel, fableau, diminutive of fable fable entry 1

First Known Use

1804, in the meaning defined above