knave

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
  2. noun one of four face cards in a deck bearing a picture of a young prince

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

rogue, rascal, rapscallion, scalawag, scallywag, varlet

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