What does "blackguard" mean?
Blackguard: The criminals and vagrants or vagabonds of a town or community, collectively. [Obs.]
Additional senses
- 2.A person of stained or low character, esp. one who uses scurrilous language, or treats others with foul abuse; a scoundrel; a rough. A man whose manners and sentiments are decidedly below those of his class deserves to be called a blackguard. Macaulay.
- 3.A vagrant; a bootblack; a gamin. [Obs.]
- 4.To revile or abuse in scurrilous language. Southey.
- 5.Scurrilous; abusive; low; worthless; vicious; as, blackguard language.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00