Folengo

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A 16th-century Italian poet known for his blending of vernacular and classical styles in his humorous and satirical works
2. An important figure in the development of the Italian literary language through his inventive use of dialects
3. Creator of complex and playful poetry that often included social criticism and folklore references

Etymology: Folengo is a surname, and the poet it belongs to is Teofilo Folengo (1491–1544), who wrote under the pen name Merlin Cocai. Born near Mantua, he was a Benedictine monk before he left the order and turned to writing. His best-known work, "Baldus" (first published in 1517 and expanded in 1552), is a mock-epic in macaronic Latin, a playful mixture of Latin grammar with Italian and dialect words, which gave the English word "macaronic" its meaning. The name itself is a regional Lombard surname, and it is the family name that the poet took into his religious and literary life. Because the name is a personal surname rather than a common word, its etymology is simply the history of that family name, and no further linguistic story attaches to it.