Mid 18th century; earliest use found in Laurence Sterne (1713–1768), writer and Church of England clergyman. From rabela- + -ic, apparently originally after the name of Longinus Rabelaicus, a character in the Rabelaisian satire cited in quot. 1768.
Definition of Rabelaic in US English:
Rabelaic
adjectiveˌrabəˈleɪɪk
rare
Rabelaisian.
Origin
Mid 18th century; earliest use found in Laurence Sterne (1713–1768), writer and Church of England clergyman. From rabela- + -ic, apparently originally after the name of Longinus Rabelaicus, a character in the Rabelaisian satire cited in quot. 1768.