Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Characterized by joviality and conviviality.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Resembling Falstaff, the fat knight in Shakspere's “Henry IV.” and “Merry Wives of Windsor”; hence, corpulent; convivial; boasting; lying brazenly; coarsely jovial, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective of or pertaining to falstaff, a character in Shakespeare's plays.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective corpulent and jolly
  • adjective Of or pertaining to the traits of the comic character Falstaff

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or resembling Falstaff

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After Sir John Falstaff, a character in Henry IV, Parts I and II, and The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Falstaff, a comic character in the Shakespearean plays Henry IV (parts 1 and 2) and The Merry Wives of Windsor

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Examples

  • Swearing is now pretty rare (I swear to God!), though it used to be more common (in Falstaffian oaths such as ’Sblood! — “by God’s blood” — or Zounds! — “by God’s wounds”).

    Letters to the Editor 2009

  • Swearing is now pretty rare (I swear to God!), though it used to be more common (in Falstaffian oaths such as ’Sblood! — “by God’s blood” — or Zounds! — “by God’s wounds”).

    Letters to the Editor 2009

  • Toby is an impecunious relative of Olivia's and a kind of Falstaffian moocher whose continued presence in the house is a drain on Olivia's patience and her pocketbook.

    Shakespeare Bevington, David 2002

  • To be "Falstaffian" is to delight in excess: a Falstaffian night out is more likely a stag party or a booze-up after a big football victory than an elegant soirée.

    Evening Standard - Home 2010

  • Members assimilated in hearty courtesy of a Falstaffian Bard's birthday take a break of final Apr hosted by Messrs. Friedman, Madeira, as good as Pope.

    Archive 2009-11-01 admin 2009

  • The Enquirer had spent weeks shadowing Edwards' Falstaffian aide Andrew Young and Rielle Hunter in a North Carolina gated community before finally publishing the story that she was pregnant with the candidate's baby.

    David Perel: Technology & Psychology: The Never-Before-Revealed Details of Why John Edwards Finally Confessed to His Affair David Perel 2011

  • They bicker constantly, Clemen's Falstaffian appetites and uncontrollable bodily urges clashing with the priggishness and military discipline of Jimmy, a former air-force officer, and their ill-tempered dialogues are often hilarious.

    Adios, Warlock Joshua Lustig 2011

  • The Enquirer had spent weeks shadowing Edwards' Falstaffian aide Andrew Young and Rielle Hunter in a North Carolina gated community before finally publishing the story that she was pregnant with the candidate's baby.

    Technology <![CDATA[&]]> Psychology: The Never-Before-Revealed Details of Why John Edwards Finally Confessed to His Affair David Perel 2011

  • His eyes sparkling with humour, intelligence, and mischief, he was a man of Falstaffian charm and love of life who adored Henry and Alex.

    Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011

  • Members assimilated in hearty courtesy of a Falstaffian Bard's birthday take a break of final Apr hosted by Messrs. Friedman, Madeira, as good as Pope.

    Philadelphia Reflections: Shakspere Society of Philadelphia admin 2009

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