rapscallion

rapscallion

English

Etymology

From an alteration of rascallion, a fanciful elaboration of rascal (someone who is naughty).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹæpˈskæljən/

• Audio (US)

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Noun

rapscallion (plural rapscallions)

1. A rascal, scamp, rogue, or scoundrel.
   • 1901, Joseph Conrad and Ford Madox Ford, The Inheritors, ch. 3:

     She was the sister who had remained within the pale; I, the rapscallion of a brother whose vagaries were trying to his relations.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:villain

Translations

rascal

Finnish: viikari (fi) (rascal); kelmi (fi) (scoundrel)

Adjective

rapscallion (comparative more rapscallion, superlative most rapscallion)

1. Roguish, disreputable.
   • 1869, Anthony Trollope. He Knew He Was Right, ch. 12:

     [H]e is dressed in such a rapscallion manner that the people would think you were talking to a house-breaker.

   • 1895, Charlotte M. Yonge, The Carbonels, ch. 23:

     "I baint a-going to give my master's property to a lot of rapscallion thieves and robbers like you."