First Known Use: 1652
Dictionary
billingsgate
noun bil·lings·gate \ˈbi-liŋz-ˌgāt, British usually -git\
Definition of BILLINGSGATE
: coarsely abusive language
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Origin of BILLINGSGATE
Billingsgate, old gate and fish market, London, England
Related to BILLINGSGATE
- Synonyms
- abuse, fulmination, invective, obloquy, scurrility, vitriol, vituperation
Synonym Discussion of BILLINGSGATE
abuse, vituperation, invective, obloquy, billingsgate mean vehemently expressed condemnation or disapproval. abuse, the most general term, usually implies the anger of the speaker and stresses the harshness of the language <scathing verbal abuse>. vituperation implies fluent and sustained abuse <a torrent of vituperation>. invective implies a comparable vehemence but suggests greater verbal and rhetorical skill and may apply to a public denunciation <blistering political invective>. obloquy suggests defamation and consequent shame and disgrace <subjected to obloquy and derision>. billingsgate implies practiced fluency and variety of profane or obscene abuse <directed a stream of billingsgate at the cabdriver>.
Rhymes with BILLINGSGATE
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