knave
English · Thesaurus
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knave
- /neɪv/
Sounds like nave · Rhymes with -eɪv
Where it comes from
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.
noun knaves
- A boy; especially, a boy servant.
- Any male servant; a menial. Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave that, doting on his own obsequious bondage, wears out his time, much like his master's ass, For naught but provender, and when he's old – cashier'd! Whip me such honest knaves.
-
A tricky, deceitful fellow; a dishonest person.
I could plainly diſcover from whence one Family derives a long Chin; why a ſecond hath abounded with Knaves for two Generations, and Fools for two more; why a third happened to be crack-brained, and a fourth to be Sharpers.
Similar: rogue, villain, antimodel, bad guy, baddie, bastard, beggar, blackguard, bounder, cad, cockatrice, coistril
- A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or a soldier.
Translations
Every language
noun archaic: boy; especially, boy servant
| Español | paje |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | ghulamu |
| Português | pajem |
| Français | page |
| Deutsch | Knabe, Knappe, Junge |
| Italiano | paggio |
| Română | paj |
| Русский | ма́льчик-слуга́ málʹčik-slugá, прислу́жник prislúžnik |
noun archaic: any male servant
| Español | mozo |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | ghulamu |
| Deutsch | Knecht |
| Italiano | garzone, giovane |
| Română | servitor |
| Русский | прислу́жник prislúžnik, лаке́й lakéj |
noun deceitful fellow
| Español | bellaco, villano |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 악당 akdang |
| 日本語 | 悪党 akutō |
| 中文 | 惡棍 /恶棍 ègùn |
| Kiswahili | ghulamu |
| Français | voyou, fourbe, faquin |
| Deutsch | Gauner, Schurke, Bösewicht, Übeltäter, Unhold, Strolch |
| Ελληνικά | απατεών apateón |
| Română | pungaș, bandit, ticălos, nemernic |
| Русский | подле́ц podléc, плут plut, жу́лик žúlik, негодя́й negodjáj, подо́нок podónok |
Talk about this word "knave." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/knave. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. knave. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/knave "knave." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/knave.Cite this
@misc{knave_2026,
title = {knave},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/knave},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
