Dictionary entry

Charlatan

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Char″la‐tan (?), n. [F. charlatan, fr. It. ciarlatano, fr. ciarlare to chartter, prate; of imitative origin; cf. It. zirlare to whistle like a thrush.] One who prates much in his own favor, and makes unwarrantable pretensions; a quack; an impostor; an empiric; a mountebank.