This week’s theme
Insults

This week’s words
nithing
barbermonger
varlet
applejohn
trifler

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(VAR-luht/lit)

MEANING:

noun
1. An unprincipled or dishonest person.
2. An attendant, servant, or a knight’s page.

ETYMOLOGY:

A variant of valet, from Latin vassus (servant, vassal). Earliest documented use: 1470.

NOTES:

Once the loyal lad carrying your sword and shining your armor, the varlet slowly slipped down society’s ladder, and straight into the tavern. From noble page to dishonorable knave, it’s like the linguistic version of a reality show fall from grace: from squire to liar.

USAGE:

“Be on the lookout for wallet-stealing varlets.”
Brian C. Coad; A Placebo Effect; Analog Science Fiction & Fact (New York); Dec 2010.

“Hang him, dishonest varlet!”
William Shakespeare; The Merry Wives of Windsor; 1602.

See more usage examples of varlet in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: