What is a Mountebank?
The term mountebank is derived from the Italian, montembanco, which refers to someone who gets up on a bench. Simply put, a mountebank is a peddler, particularly of bogus medicine. In closer association to its Italian derivative montembanco, the term mountebank refers to someone who sells bogus or quack medicine by standing on a pedestal or platform to address and entice an audience of potential quack medicine buyers. A mountebank is someone who sells by means of deception, who dupes a customer into purchasing a good. Although the term originally pertains to someone who sells dubious medicines, it can also refer more generally to anyone who resorts to spectacle in order to attract buyers. A mountebank could be anyone who participates in flamboyant spectacle, trickery or pretence to obtain an advantage, especially monetary advantage. Other synonymous names for such a person include charlatan and con artist. More specifically, a charlatan is a boastful pretender of knowledge or skill. In
