Dictionary

1mountebank

noun moun·te·bank \ˈman-ti-ˌbaŋk\

: a dishonest person : a person who tricks and cheats other people

Full Definition of MOUNTEBANK

1
:  a person who sells quack medicines from a platform
2
:  a boastful unscrupulous pretender :  charlatan
moun·te·bank·ery \-ˌbaŋ-k(ə-)rē\ noun
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Origin of MOUNTEBANK

Italian montimbanco, from montare to mount + in in, on + banco, banca bench
First Known Use: 1577

2mountebank

verb

Definition of MOUNTEBANK

transitive verb
obsolete
:  to beguile or transform by trickery <I'll mountebank their loves — Shakespeare>
intransitive verb
:  to play the mountebank

First Known Use of MOUNTEBANK

1607
Medical Dictionary

mountebank

noun moun·te·bank \ˈmant-i-ˌbaŋk\

Medical Definition of MOUNTEBANK

:  an itinerant hawker of pills and patent medicines especially from a platform :  quack <bought an unction of a mountebank—Shak.>

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