Word of the Day

: March 25, 2008

rodomontade

noun rah-duh-mun-TAYD

What It Means

1 : a bragging speech

2 : vain boasting or bluster : rant

rodomontade in Context

My arrogant uncle is given to frequent flights of rodomontade about what a hard-working, self-made man he is.

Did You Know?

"Rodomontade" (which can also be spelled "rhodomontade") originated in Italian poetry. Rodomonte was a fierce and boastful king in Orlando Innamorato, Count Matteo M. Boiardo's late 15th century epic, and later in the sequel Orlando Furioso, written by poet Lodovico Ariosto in 1516. In the late 16th century, English speakers began to use "rodomont" as a noun meaning "braggart." Soon afterwards, "rodomontade" entered the language as a noun (meaning "empty bluster" or "bragging speech") and later as an adjective (meaning "boastful" or "ranting"). The noun "rodomont" is no longer used in English, but "rodomontade" is still with us.