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knave. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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English
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.
Pronunciation
Noun
knave (plural knaves)
- (archaic) A boy; especially, a boy servant.
- (archaic) Any male servant; a menial.
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 Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :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.
- A tricky, deceitful fellow; a dishonest person.
- Synonyms: rogue, villain
1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “A Further Account of Glubbdubdrib. ”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. , volume II, London: Benj Motte, , →OCLC, part III (A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdribb, Luggnagg, and Japan), page 108: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.
1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 44, in The History of Pendennis. , volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, , published 1849–1850, →OCLC: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.
1908, W B M Ferguson, chapter II, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →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.
- (card games) A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or soldier; a jack.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
archaic: boy; especially, boy servant
archaic: any male servant
deceitful fellow
- Bulgarian: мошеник (bg) m (mošenik)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 惡棍/恶棍 (zh) (ègùn)
- Czech: lotr (cs) m, darebák (cs) m, ničema (cs) m, bídák m
- Dutch: schelm (nl) m
- Finnish: lurjus (fi)
- French: voyou (fr) m, fourbe (fr) m
- Georgian: არამზადა (aramzada), გაიძვერა (gaiʒvera), თაღლითი (taɣliti)
- German: Gauner (de) m, Schurke (de) m, Bösewicht (de) m, Übeltäter (de) m, Unhold (de) m, Strolch (de) m
- Greek: απατεών m (apateón)
- Ancient: πανοῦργος m (panoûrgos)
- Hungarian: gazember (hu), lókötő (hu), pernahajder (hu), csibész (hu), zsivány (hu)
- Japanese: 悪党 (ja) (あくとう, akutō)
- Macedonian: и́змамник m (ízmamnik)
- Plautdietsch: Hollunk m
- Romanian: pungaș (ro) m, bandit (ro) m, ticălos (ro) m, nemernic (ro) m
- Russian: подле́ц (ru) m (podléc), плут (ru) m (plut), жу́лик (ru) m (žúlik), негодя́й (ru) m (negodjáj), подо́нок (ru) m (podónok)
- Spanish: bellaco (es) m, villano (es) m
- Swahili: ghulamu (sw)
- Swedish: skojare (sv) c, gynnare (sv) c
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playing card
- Arabic: أَعْرَج m (ʔaʕraj)
- Armenian: զինվոր (hy) (zinvor), վալետ (hy) (valet) (colloquial)
- Bengali: গোলাম (bn) (gōlam)
- Bulgarian: вале n (vale)
- Catalan: sota (ca) f
- Chickasaw: minko' oshi'
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 積/积 (yue) (zik1)
- Mandarin: 鉤/钩 (zh) (gōu), J (zh)
- Czech: spodek (cs) m, kluk (cs) m
- Danish: knægt (da) c
- Dutch: boer (nl) m, zot (nl) m (Flemish)
- Esperanto: bubo (eo), fanto, paĝio
- Estonian: poiss (et)
- Finnish: jätkä (fi), sotilas (fi), sotamies (fi), solttu (fi)
- French: valet (fr) m
- Georgian: ვალეტი (ka) (valeṭi)
- German: Bube (de) m
- Greek: βαλές (el) m (valés)
- Hindi: ग़ुलाम (hi) (ġulām)
- Hungarian: bubi (hu), jumbó
- Icelandic: gosi m
- Ido: pajo (io)
- Irish: cuireata m
- Italian: fante (it)
- Japanese: ジャック (ja) (jakku)
- Korean: 잭 (jaek)
- Lithuanian: žemys m, žemukas m, kojinis m, kaplys m
- Macedonian: џа́ндар m (džándar)
- Malay: pekak (ms)
- Maltese: kavall m
- Maori: tiaki
- Mongolian: боол (mn) (bool) ᠪᠣᠭᠣᠯ (boɣol)
- Navajo: sóóda
- Norman: valet m
- Northern Mansi: (please verify) хӯш (hūš)
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: knekt m
- Nynorsk: knekt m
- Ojibwe: zhiimaaganish
- Ottoman Turkish: اوغلان (oğlan), باجاق (bacak), فانتی (fanti)
- Persian: خشت (fa) (xešt)
- Polish: walet (pl) m anim
- Portuguese: valete (pt) m
- Romanian: valet (ro) m
- Russian: вале́т (ru) m (valét)
- Serbo-Croatian: dečko (sh) m
- Slovak: dolník m
- Slovene: fant (sl) m, pob m
- Spanish: sota (es) f
- Swahili: ghulamu (sw), mzungu wa tatu
- Swedish: knekt (sv) c
- Turkish: bacak (tr), oğlan (tr), vale (tr)
- Welsh: jac m, milwr (cy) m
- Zazaki: vale, zelat
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Anagrams
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old English cnafa, from Proto-Germanic *knabô. Compare knape.
Pronunciation
Noun
knave (plural knaves or knaven)
- son, male child (offspring)
- boy, lad, male child or baby
- guy, bloke, man
- servant, hireling, menial
- peasant, lowly individual
- infantryman, soldier
- knave, caitiff, despicable individual
Related terms
Descendants
References