Postby Stargzer » Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:37 pm
Speaking of unsavory people . . .
varlet
SYLLABICATION: var·let
PRONUNCIATION: vär
' lĭt
NOUN: 1. An attendant or servant. 2. A knight's page. 3. A rascal; a knave.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, from Old French, variant of
vaslet. See
valet.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Etymology:
varlet
1456, "servant, attendant of a knight," from M.Fr.
varlet (14c.), variant of
vaslet, originally "squire, young man," from O.Fr.
vassal (see
vassal). The meaning "rascal, rogue" is 1550.
Regards//Larry
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee