persiflage

noun /ˈpɜː.sɪ.flɑːʒ/

1. Good-natured banter; raillery.

   countable, uncountable

   After the third strike he returned to the bench to face the inevitable persiflage from his teammates.

2. Frivolous, lighthearted discussion of a topic.

   countable, uncountable

   Polite dinner calls for persiflage rather than in-depth possibly offensive discussion.

Where it comes from

From French persiflage, from persifler (“to quiz, tease, mock”), from per- + siffler (“to whistle”), from Latin sībilō (“whistle”).

Related words

• persiflate

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry persiflage (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← perscrutationpersiflate →

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