varlet
/ˈvɑːlət/ noun
Forms varlets
- noun (obsolete) A servant or attendant.
- noun (historical) Specifically, a youth acting as a knight's attendant at the beginning of his training for knighthood.
- noun (archaic) A rogue or scoundrel.
- noun (obsolete, card games) The jack.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English varlet, varlette, from Old French varlet, variant of vadlet, vallet, vaslet. Doublet of valet.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A servant, especially to a knight; an attendant; a valet; a footman. [Obs.] Spenser. Tusser.
- noun Hence, a low fellow; a scoundrel; a rascal; as, an impudent varlet.
Etymology [OF. varlet, vaslet, vallet, servant, young man, young noble, dim of vassal. See Vassal, and cf. Valet.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “varlet”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details