blackguard
UK /ˈblæɡəd/ · US /ˈblæɡɚd/ noun, verb
Forms blackguards blackguarding blackguarded blaggard
- noun (historical) The lowest servant in a household charged with pots, pans, and other kitchen equipment.
- noun (dated, chiefly of men) An unprincipled, contemptible person; an untrustworthy person.
- noun (archaic) A man who uses foul language in front of a woman (typically a woman of high standing).
- verb (transitive) To revile or abuse in scurrilous language.
- verb (intransitive) To act like a blackguard; to be a scoundrel.
Synonyms
scoundrel assbag assbreath assbucket asschunk asscunt assface assfag assfaggot assfuck assfucker asshat asshead asshole assmonkey assmouth assmunch assmuncher asstard asswagon cad bounder dog hound heel ridicule roast guy laugh at jest at
Etymology
From black + guard, thought to have referred originally to the scullions and lower menials of a court, or of a nobleman's household, who wore black liveries or blacked shoes and boots, or were often stained with soot.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The scullions and lower menials of a court, or of a nobleman's household, who, in a removal from one residence to another, had charge of the kitchen utensils, and being smutted by them, were jocularly called the "black guard"; also, the servants and hangers-on of an army. [Obs.]
- noun The criminals and vagrants or vagabonds of a town or community, collectively. [Obs.]
- verb To revile or abuse in scurrilous language. Southey.
- adjective Scurrilous; abusive; low; worthless; vicious; as, blackguard language.
Etymology [Black + guard.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “blackguard”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details