1. short comic or satirical verse tales in French literature, especially from the 12th and 13th centuries
Usage: literary; plural form

Examples

• The fabliaux were popular forms of entertainment in medieval France.
• Students studied the fabliaux to understand medieval humor and social commentary.
• Many fabliaux featured clever peasants outwitting their social superiors.
• The professor assigned several fabliaux for the medieval literature course.
• These fabliaux reveal much about daily life in the Middle Ages.
• The ribald humor of the fabliaux contrasted sharply with courtly romances.