rocambolesque

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English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French rocambolesque, in reference to Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail's character Rocambole.

Adjective

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rocambolesque (comparative more rocambolesque, superlative most rocambolesque)

  1. Fantastic, incredible, fabulous.
    a rocambolesque story
    • 2001, “Chapter 14: Structure, Contingency, and Choice”, in Joan Wallach Scott, Debra Keates, editors, Schools of Thought: Twenty-five Years of Interpretive Social Science, Princeton University Press, page 267:
      Behind much of this were particular concrete New Left movements, some serious, some more rocambolesque.
    • 2004, Christopher Wood, Sincere Male Seeks Love and Someone to Wash His Underpants, Twenty First Century Publishers, page 18:
      Though not exactly seeking carpet slippers and the reassuring click of knitting needles he had envisaged a future rather less rocambolesque than the plot of the average Tarantino movie.
    • 2017, Matteo Salvadore, The African Prester John and the Birth of Ethiopian-European Relations, 1402-1555, Taylor & Francis (Routledge), page 121:
      The latter in particular was an unlikely candidate for what would turn out to be the most rocambolesque experiences in the entire history of the encounter.

Translations

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French

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Etymology

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From Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail's character Rocambole + -esque.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ʁɔ.kɑ̃.bɔ.lɛsk/
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

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rocambolesque (plural rocambolesques)

  1. fantastic, unusual, incredible, wacky
    Synonyms: incroyable, inimaginable, inouï, invraisemblable

Descendants

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  • English: rocambolesque
  • Italian: rocambolesco
  • Spanish: rocambolesco

Further reading

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