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lackey

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8 dictionary results for: Lackey

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

lack·ey

[lak-ee] Pronunciation Key noun, plural -eys, verb, -eyed, -ey·ing.

–noun

1.	a servile follower; toady.

2.	a footman or liveried manservant.

–verb (used with object)

3.	to attend as a lackey does.

Also, lacquey.

[Origin: 1520–30; < MF laquais, perh. < Catalan lacayo, alacayo < ?

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

lack·ey (lāk'ē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. lack·eys

A liveried male servant; a footman.
A servile follower; a toady.

v.   lack·eyed, lack·ey·ing, lack·eys

v.   tr.
To wait on as a footman; attend.

v.   intr.
To act in a servile manner; fawn.

[French laquais, from Old French.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
lackey

1529, "footman, running footman, valet," from M.Fr. laquais "foot soldier, footman, servant" (15c.), probably from O.Prov. lacai, from lecai "glutton, covetous," from lecar "to lick." Alternate etymology is via Fr. from Catalan alacay, from Arabic al-qadi "the judge." Yet another guess traces it through Sp. lacayo, from It. lacchè, from Mod.Gk. oulakes, from Turk. ulak "runner, courier." This suits the original sense better, but OED says It. lacchè is from French. Sense of "servile follower" appeared 1588. As a political term of abuse it dates from 1939 in communist jargon.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

lackey
noun
1.	a male servant (especially a footman)
2.	a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage [syn: sycophant]

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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Lackey, KY Zip code(s): 41643

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Lackey

Lack"ey\, n.; pl. Lackeys. [F. laquais; cf. Sp. & Pg. lacayo; of uncertain origin; perh. of German origin, and akin to E. lick, v.] An attending male servant; a footman; a servile follower.

Like a Christian footboy or a gentleman's lackey. --Shak.

Lackey caterpillar (Zo["o]l.), the caterpillar, or larva, of any bombycid moth of the genus Clisiocampa; -- so called from its party-colored markings. The common European species (C. neustria) is striped with blue, yellow, and red, with a white line on the back. The American species (C. Americana and C. sylvatica) are commonly called tent caterpillars. See Tent caterpillar, under Tent.

Lackey moth (Zo["o]l.), the moth which produces the lackey caterpillar.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Lackey

Lack"ey\, v. t. To attend as a lackey; to wait upon.

A thousand liveried angels lackey her. --Milton.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Lackey

Lack"ey\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lackeyed; p. pr. & vb. n. Lackeying.] To act or serve as lackey; to pay servile attendance.

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