Meaning
The act of persistently instigating lawsuits, often groundless ones.
Etymology
Origin: French
Early 15th century, in sense “sale of offices”, from Old French baraterie (“deceit, trickery”), from barat (“fraud, deceit, trickery”), of unknown origin, perhaps Celtic. In marine sense of “unlawful acts causing loss to owner”, 1620s.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
simonyderelictiondisaffectiondisloyaltyfalsenessfalsityinconstancyinfidelityunfaithfulness
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025.