grammelot
/ˈɡræməlɒt/
grammelot noun: a style of language used in satirical theater: a gibberish with macaronic and onomatopoeic elements, used in association with mime and mimicry.
Noun
grammelot (countable and uncountable, plural grammelots)
- A style of language used in satirical theater: a gibberish with macaronic and onomatopoeic elements, used in association with mime and mimicry.
- Actually, much of “Mistero Buffo” doesn't require translation and indeed is untranslatable: Mr. Fo speaks in “grammelot,” a kind of polyglot gabble speckled with an occasional intelligible word.1986 May 25, Scott Rosenberg, “Dario Fo, Italy's Political Clown, Pays a Visit”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
- Then, dashing in and out of guises, using his expressive face and body and speaking in grammelot so that everyone can understand him, he might improvise. That would surely be a Nobel first, like the winner himself.1997 October 15, Mel Gussow, “The Not-So-Accidental Recognition of an Anarchist”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Forms of grammelot
| plural | grammelots |
|---|---|
| alternative form | gromalot |
Origin of grammelot
Unknown. Dario Fo claims a French origin, and it has been linked to grommeler (“to grumble”).
Questions about grammelot
- What does grammelot mean?
- Grammelot means a style of language used in satirical theater: a gibberish with macaronic and onomatopoeic elements, used in association with mime and mimicry.
- What part of speech is grammelot?
- Grammelot is a noun.
- How do you pronounce grammelot?
- Grammelot is pronounced /ˈɡræməlɒt/.
- What is the plural of grammelot?
- The plural of grammelot is grammelots.
Words near grammelot in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: grammelot (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “grammelot.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/grammelot. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.