Knave

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Knave \Knave\ (n[=a]v), n. [OE., boy, servant, knave, AS. cnafa
     boy, youth; cf. AS. cnapa boy, youth, D. knaap, G. knabe boy,
     knappe esquire, Icel. knapi, Sw. knape esquire, kn[aum]fvel
     knave.]
     1. A boy; especially, a boy servant. [Obs.] --Wyclif.
        Chaucer.


        [1913 Webster]
  
              O murderous slumber,
              Lay'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy
              That plays thee music ? Gentle knave, good night.
                                                    --Shak.
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     2. Any male servant; a menial. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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              He's but Fortune's knave,
              A minister of her will.               --Shak.
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     3. A tricky, deceitful fellow; a dishonest person; a rogue; a
        villain. "A pair of crafty knaves." --Shak.
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              In defiance of demonstration, knaves will continue
              to proselyte fools.                   --Ames.
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     Note: "How many serving lads must have been unfaithful and
           dishonest before knave -- which meant at first no more
           than boy -- acquired the meaning which it has now !"
           --Trench.
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     4. A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or
        soldier; a jack; as, the knave of hearts.
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     {Knave child}, a male child. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
  
     Syn: Villain; cheat; rascal; rogue; scoundrel; miscreant.
          [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Varlet \Var"let\, n. [OF. varlet, vaslet, vallet, servant, young
     man, young noble, dim. of vassal. See {Vassal}, and cf.
     {Valet}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A servant, especially to a knight; an attendant; a valet;
        a footman. [Obs.] --Spenser. Tusser.
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     2. Hence, a low fellow; a scoundrel; a rascal; as, an
        impudent varlet.
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              What a brazen-faced varlet art thou ! --Shak.
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     3. In a pack of playing cards, the court card now called the
        {knave}, or {jack}. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  knave
       n 1: a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel [syn: {rogue}, {rascal},
             {rapscallion}, {scalawag}, {scallywag}, {varlet}]
       2: one of four face cards in a deck bearing a picture of a
          young prince [syn: {jack}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  77 Moby Thesaurus words for "knave":
     ace, bad boy, bastard, best bower, blackguard, booger, bower,
     buffoon, bugger, cards, clubs, cutup, deck, deuce, devil, diamonds,
     dummy, elf, enfant terrible, face cards, flush, full house,
     funmaker, hand, hearts, heel, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, imp, jack,
     joker, jokester, king, left bower, little devil, little monkey,
     little rascal, lowlife, minx, mischief, mischief-maker, miscreant,
     pack, pair, picture cards, pixie, playing cards, practical joker,
     prankster, precious rascal, puck, queen, rapscallion, rascal,
     rogue, round, rowdy, royal flush, rubber, ruff, ruffian, scalawag,
     scamp, scapegrace, scoundrel, shyster, singleton, sneak, spades,
     spalpeen, straight, trey, trick, trump, villain, wag
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  KNAVE. A false, dishonest, or deceitful person. This signification of the 
  word has arisen by a long perversion of its original meaning. 
       2. To call a man a knave has been held to be actionable. 1 Rolle's Ab. 
  52; 1 Freem. 277.,