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Rascal

 - 3 dictionary results

ras⋅cal

  [ras-kuhl]
Use Rascal in a Sentence
–noun
1. a base, dishonest, or unscrupulous person.
2. a mischievous person or animal: That child is a real rascal.
Origin:
1300–50; ME rascaile, raskaille < OF rascaille rabble; perh. akin to rash 2

Related forms:
ras⋅cal⋅like, adjective

Synonyms:
1. rapscallion, scamp, villain, miscreant, scapegrace. See knave.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ras·cal   (rās'kəl)   
n.  

  1. One that is playfully mischievous.

  2. An unscrupulous, dishonest person; a scoundrel.

adj.   Archaic
Made up of, belonging to, or relating to the common people: "Nor shall the Rascal Rabble here have Peace" (John Dryden).

[Middle English rascaile, rabble, commoners, from Old French rascaille, probably from rasque, mud, from Vulgar Latin *rāsicāre, to scrape; see rash2.]
ras'cal·ly adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

rascal 
c.1330, rascaile "people of the lowest class, rabble of an army," from O.Fr. rascaille "outcast, rabble" (12c.), perhaps from rasque "mud, filth, scab, dregs," from V.L. *rasicare "to scrape" (see rash (n.)). The singular form is first attested 1461; extended sense of "low, dishonest person" is from early 1586.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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