knave en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- nāv
- (US) audio
- /neɪv/
Etymology
From Middle English knave, knafe, from Old English cnafa (“child, boy, youth; servant”), from Proto-West Germanic *knabō. Cognate to Dutch knaap and German Knabe.
Meanings
- (archaic) A boy; especially, a boy servant.
-
(archaic) Any male servant; a menial.
Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave that, doting on his own obsequious bondage, wears out his time, much like his master's ass, For naught but provender, and when he's old – cashier'd! Whip me such honest knaves.
c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
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(dated) A tricky, deceitful fellow; a dishonest person.
I could plainly diſcover from whence one Family derives a long Chin; why a ſecond hath abounded with Knaves for two Generations, and Fools for two more; why a third happened to be crack-brained, and a fourth to be Sharpers.
1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “A Further Account of Glubbdubdrib. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part III (A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdribb, Luggnagg, and Japan), page 108:God's bones! Whenever I go to beat those knaves / my tapsters, out she [my wife] comes with clubs and staves, / "Go on!" she screams — and it's a caterwaul — / "You kill those dogs! Break back and bones and all!"
1951, Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by Nevill Coghill, The Canterbury Tales: Translated into Modern English (Penguin Classics), Penguin Books, published 1977, page 204:He was a man whom scarcely any amount of fortune could have benefited permanently, and who was made to be ruined, to cheat small tradesmen, to be the victim of astuter sharpers: to be niggardly and reckless, and as destitute of honesty as the people who cheated him, and a dupe, chiefly because he was too mean to be a successful knave.
1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 44, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:I had never defrauded a man of a farthing, nor called him knave behind his back. But now the last rag that covered my nakedness had been torn from me. I was branded a blackleg, card-sharper, and murderer.
1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter II, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
- A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or a soldier.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| knaves | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
knavess · knaveproof · knave of clubs · knave bairn · knavery · beknave · knave of hearts · knaveship · knavish · knave of spades · knave of diamonds
Synonyms
bastard · antimodel · makeshift · scapegrace · evildoer · villain · mul:J · blackguard · jack · rogue · thug · heavy · coistril · scumbag · ne'er-do-well · cockatrice · beggar · rascal · rapscallion · knave · scoundrel · scab · niding · baddie · scum · miscreant · scamp · cad · undesirable · rogue · harlot · bounder · nithing · fustilarian · varlet · bad guy · lidderon · villain
Translations (194)
pt valete (playing card) · it garzone (archaic: any male servant) · mk и́змамник (deceitful fellow) · mt kavall (playing card) · ru прислу́жник (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · it giovane (archaic: any male servant) · et soldat (playing card) · fa-ira سَرْباز (playing card) · nl boer (playing card) · hu bubi (playing card) · fi sotamies (playing card) · fr page (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · ms penyangak (deceitful fellow) · de Knappe (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · tr fanti (playing card) · aht kohtʼaene (playing card) · el βαλές (playing card) · ru вале́т (playing card) · ms pekak (playing card) · ru прислу́жник (archaic: any male servant) · fi knaapi (archaic: any male servant) · cs spodek (playing card) · es mozo (archaic: any male servant) · sw ghulamu (playing card) · ms durjana (deceitful fellow) · cy jac (playing card) · ro valet (playing card) · be ні́жнік (playing card) · sv skojare (deceitful fellow) · hu csibész (deceitful fellow) · nl knaap (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · ca patge (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · nrf valet (playing card) · ru негодя́й (deceitful fellow) · szl dupek (playing card) · de Junge (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · it paggio (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · sv knekt (playing card) · hu lókötő (deceitful fellow) · ka ლაქია (archaic: any male servant) · ru плут (deceitful fellow) · es paje (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · cmn J (playing card) · ka გაიძვერა (deceitful fellow) · sh pȕb (playing card) · ca sota (playing card) · fi sotilas (playing card) · be вале́т (playing card) · es villano (deceitful fellow) · fr faquin (deceitful fellow) · de Übeltäter (deceitful fellow) · lt žemys (playing card) · ro paj (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · cmn 惡棍 /恶棍 (deceitful fellow) · pl sługa (archaic: any male servant) · el απατεών (deceitful fellow) · az valet (playing card) · nn knekt (playing card) · uz valet (playing card) · de Knecht (archaic: any male servant) · ro bandit (deceitful fellow) · de Schurke (deceitful fellow) · mi tiaki (playing card) · ru жу́лик (deceitful fellow) · yue 積 /积 (playing card) · lt kaplys (playing card) · sk dolník (playing card) · cs darebák (deceitful fellow) · ms bedebah (deceitful fellow) · yi פּויער (playing card) · sh žȁca (playing card) · fr valet (playing card) · cic minko' oshi' (playing card) · fi hovipoika (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · sh де̏чко (playing card) · ja 悪党 (deceitful fellow) · uk вале́т (playing card) · nl schelm (deceitful fellow) · ro ticălos (deceitful fellow) · sh жа̏ца (playing card) · cmn 鉤 /钩 (playing card) · pt pajem (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · hu jumbó (playing card) · hu gazember (deceitful fellow) · ky валет (playing card) · ar أَعْرَج (playing card) · ru подо́нок (deceitful fellow) · ka არამზადა (deceitful fellow) · es sota (playing card) · hu zsivány (deceitful fellow) · cs lotr (deceitful fellow) · is gosi (playing card) · az vale (playing card) · tr bacak (playing card) · ota باجاق (playing card) · ro servitor (archaic: any male servant) · de Bösewicht (deceitful fellow) · de Strolch (deceitful fellow) · sl fant (playing card) · ky балта (playing card) · sq fant (playing card) · fr fourbe (deceitful fellow) · ota اوغلان (playing card) · bg вале́ (playing card) · uz sallot (playing card) · ru подле́ц (deceitful fellow) · nl knecht (archaic: any male servant) · sv hjon (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · tr oğlan (playing card) · fi solttu (playing card) · sv dräng (farmhand) (archaic: any male servant) · oj zhiimaaganish (playing card) · hy վալետ (playing card) · sh žȁndar (playing card) · kk балта (playing card) · sv gynnare (deceitful fellow) · he נָסִיךְ (playing card) · nl zot (playing card) · mk џа́ндар (playing card) · de Knabe (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · sw ghulamu (deceitful fellow) · nb knekt (playing card) · ja ジャック (playing card) · de Bube (playing card) · ro nemernic (deceitful fellow) · io pajo (playing card) · ka მსახური (archaic: any male servant) · ru лаке́й (archaic: any male servant) · bn গোলাম (playing card) · sl pob (playing card) · tg саллот (playing card) · ota لوند (deceitful fellow) · km កាតឹប (playing card) · ko 악당 (deceitful fellow) · nl boy (archaic: any male servant) · sw ghulamu (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · da knægt (playing card) · sh dȅčko (playing card) · uk негі́дник (deceitful fellow) · pl chłopiec pracujący jako służący (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · cs bídák (deceitful fellow) · fi knaapi (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · ur غُلام (playing card) · ka თაღლითი (deceitful fellow) · fr voyou (deceitful fellow) · lv kalps (playing card) · mn ᠪᠣᠭᠣᠯ (playing card) · tr vale (playing card) · pl walet (playing card) · cs ničema (deceitful fellow) · de Gauner (deceitful fellow) · fi jätkä (playing card) · nv sóóda (playing card) · pl jopek (playing card) · et poiss (playing card) · es bellaco (deceitful fellow) · scn donna (playing card) · ko 잭 (playing card) · it fante (playing card) · bg моше́ник (deceitful fellow) · fi lurjus (deceitful fellow) · sh пу̏б (playing card) · grc πανοῦργος (deceitful fellow) · zza zelat (playing card) · ga cuireata (playing card) · de Unhold (deceitful fellow) · ro pungaș (deceitful fellow) · hy զինվոր (playing card) · ota فانتی (playing card) · sw mzungu wa tatu (playing card) · eo paĝio (playing card) · eo bubo (playing card) · th แจ็ค (playing card) · zza vale (playing card) · cs kluk (playing card) · bg прислу́жник (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · pl niegodziwiec (deceitful fellow) · eo fanto (playing card) · my ဂျက် (playing card) · mn боол (playing card) · lt kojinis (playing card) · pdt Hollunk (deceitful fellow) · az oğlan (playing card) · uk ви́лупок (deceitful fellow) · ru ма́льчик-слуга́ (archaic: boy; especially, boy servant) · ka ვალეტი (playing card) · sh жа̏ндар (playing card) · uk падлю́ка (deceitful fellow) · sw ghulamu (archaic: any male servant) · cy milwr (playing card) · lt žemukas (playing card) · vi bồi (playing card) · hu pernahajder (deceitful fellow) · hi ग़ुलाम (playing card)