Knave \Knave\ (n[=a]v), n. [OE., boy, servant, knave, AS. cnafa
boy, youth; cf. AS. cnapa boy, youth, D. knaap, G. knabe boy,
knappe esquire, Icel. knapi, Sw. knape esquire, kn[aum]fvel
knave.]
1. A boy; especially, a boy servant. [Obs.] --Wyclif.
Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
O murderous slumber,
Lay'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy
That plays thee music ? Gentle knave, good night.
--Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. Any male servant; a menial. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
He's but Fortune's knave,
A minister of her will. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. A tricky, deceitful fellow; a dishonest person; a rogue; a
villain. "A pair of crafty knaves." --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
In defiance of demonstration, knaves will continue
to proselyte fools. --Ames.
[1913 Webster]
Note: "How many serving lads must have been unfaithful and
dishonest before knave -- which meant at first no more
than boy -- acquired the meaning which it has now !"
--Trench.
[1913 Webster]
4. A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or
soldier; a jack; as, the knave of hearts.
[1913 Webster]
Knave child, a male child. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
Syn: Villain; cheat; rascal; rogue; scoundrel; miscreant.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Varlet \Var"let\, n. [OF. varlet, vaslet, vallet, servant, young
man, young noble, dim. of vassal. See Vassal, and cf.
Valet.]
[1913 Webster]
1. A servant, especially to a knight; an attendant; a valet;
a footman. [Obs.] --Spenser. Tusser.
[1913 Webster]
2. Hence, a low fellow; a scoundrel; a rascal; as, an
impudent varlet.
[1913 Webster]
What a brazen-faced varlet art thou ! --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. In a pack of playing cards, the court card now called the
knave, or jack. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
knave
n 1: a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel [syn: rogue, rascal,
rapscallion, scalawag, scallywag, varlet]
2: one of four face cards in a deck bearing a picture of a
young prince [syn: jack]
WordNet (r) 2.0
77 Moby Thesaurus words for "knave":
ace, bad boy, bastard, best bower, blackguard, booger, bower,
buffoon, bugger, cards, clubs, cutup, deck, deuce, devil, diamonds,
dummy, elf, enfant terrible, face cards, flush, full house,
funmaker, hand, hearts, heel, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, imp, jack,
joker, jokester, king, left bower, little devil, little monkey,
little rascal, lowlife, minx, mischief, mischief-maker, miscreant,
pack, pair, picture cards, pixie, playing cards, practical joker,
prankster, precious rascal, puck, queen, rapscallion, rascal,
rogue, round, rowdy, royal flush, rubber, ruff, ruffian, scalawag,
scamp, scapegrace, scoundrel, shyster, singleton, sneak, spades,
spalpeen, straight, trey, trick, trump, villain, wag
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
KNAVE. A false, dishonest, or deceitful person. This signification of the
word has arisen by a long perversion of its original meaning.
2. To call a man a knave has been held to be actionable. 1 Rolle's Ab.
52; 1 Freem. 277.,
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
|
|
|