Tudor & Stuart · insult · noun, adjective, verb
Rantipole
RAN-tee-polepronunciation reconstructed — no period source gives it
First recordedby 1653
A wild, rude, romping young person, boy or girl; as an adjective, wild and unruly. Grose (1785) adds 'a gadabout dissipated woman'. In some older slang it also had bawdy senses (see sensitivity note).
Where it was first recorded
Mercurius Democritus (newsbook), February 1653, per Green's Dictionary of Slang; the noun 'a rude Wild Boy or Girl' is in B.E.'s Dictionary of the Canting Crew, c. 1698.
Also spelled: rantipoll, rantipolish (adj.)
In its own time
This rantipole hero had for some time singled out the blooming Katrina for the object of his uncouth gallantries
Today
Modern exampleThe twins were in full rantipole mode, sliding down the banisters and shrieking.
Fine in its main sense for a boisterous, unruly person, especially a child.
Historically also used for a loose woman or prostitute, and Grose's phrase 'to ride rantipole' is a sexual expression; these senses are obsolete and not the word's main meaning.
Questions
What does rantipole mean?
A wild, rude, romping young person, boy or girl; as an adjective, wild and unruly. Grose (1785) adds 'a gadabout dissipated woman'. In some older slang it also had bawdy senses (see sensitivity note).
When was rantipole first used?
It is first recorded by 1653 — Mercurius Democritus (newsbook), February 1653, per Green's Dictionary of Slang; the noun 'a rude Wild Boy or Girl' is in B.E.'s Dictionary of the Canting Crew, c. 1698.
Can you still use rantipole today?
Fine in its main sense for a boisterous, unruly person, especially a child.
Sources
- rantipole, n. — Green's Dictionary of Slang
- A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, Francis Grose, 1st edition (London: S. Hooper, 1785) — Internet Archive (scan + OCR)
- A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, 'Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'), Francis Grose — Project Gutenberg eBook #5402
- rantipole — Merriam-Webster
- rantipole — Wiktionary
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving — Project Gutenberg eBook #41
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above