Tartuffe
/tɑːrˈtuːf/noun
A hypocrite or sanctimonious pretender, especially one who affects religious virtue.
Did you know?Tartuffe comes from Molière’s 1664 play *Tartuffe*, whose title character was so memorably hypocritical that his name became a common noun for a sanctimonious fraud.
Etymological Timeline
1664
French
Tartuffe
“Molière’s comic character, a religious hypocrite and fraud”
Late 17th Century
French
tartuffe
“A hypocrite, especially one who pretends to piety”
18th Century
English
tartuffe
“A hypocrite or sanctimonious pretender”
Modern English
English
tartuffe
“A hypocritical, self-righteous person”
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