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picaresque

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.17 sec.
pic·a·resque  (pk-rsk, pk-)
adj.
1. Of or involving clever rogues or adventurers.
2. Of or relating to a genre of usually satiric prose fiction originating in Spain and depicting in realistic, often humorous detail the adventures of a roguish hero of low social degree living by his or her wits in a corrupt society.
n.
One that is picaresque.

[French, from Spanish picaresco, from pícaro, picaro; see picaro.]

picaresque [ˌpɪkəˈrɛsk]
adj
1. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) of or relating to a type of fiction in which the hero, a rogue, goes through a series of episodic adventures. It originated in Spain in the 16th century
2. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) of or involving rogues or picaroons
[via French from Spanish picaresco, from pícaro a rogue]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.picaresque - involving clever rogues or adventurers especially as in a type of fiction; "picaresque novels"; "waifs of the picaresque tradition"; "a picaresque hero"
dishonest, dishonorable - deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive
Translations
picaresque [ˌpɪkəˈresk] ADJpicaresco
picaresque
adjpikaresk; picaresque novelSchelmenroman m, → pikaresker Roman
picaresque [ˌpɪkəˈrɛsk] adj (liter) → picaresco/a
picaresque [ˌpɪkəˈrɛsk] adj (liter) → picaresco/a


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
This was the famous picaresque novel, 'Lazarillo de Tormes,' by Hurtado de Mendoza, whose name then so familiarized itself to my fondness that now as I write it I feel as if it were that of an old personal friend whom I had known in the flesh.
He must have acquired experiences which would form abundant material for a picaresque novel of modern Paris, but he remained aloof, and judging from his conversation there was nothing in those years that had made a particular impression on him.
They belonged mostly to that class of realistic fiction which is called picaresque, from the Spanish word 'picaro,' a rogue, because it began in Spain with the 'Lazarillo de Tormes' of Diego de Mendoza, in 1553, and because its heroes are knavish serving-boys or similar characters whose unprincipled tricks and exploits formed the substance of the stories.
 
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