knave

knave is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 3 senses, and appears in Roget's Thesaurus (1911) with 40 related terms. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.Any male servant; a menial. [Obs.] Chaucer. He's but Fortune's knave, A minister of her will. Shak.
  2. 2.A tricky, deceitful fellow; a dishonest person; a rogue; a villain. "A pair of crafty knaves." Shak. In defiance of demonstration, knaves will continue to proselyte fools. Ames. 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.
  3. 3.A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or soldier; a jack. Knave child, a male child. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Synonyms (Webster's 1913)

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Related questions

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is knave.

Sources

  • Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
  • Synonyms: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
  • Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/word/knave
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