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lackey

 - 3 dictionary results

lack⋅ey

  [lak-ee] noun, plural -eys, verb, -eyed, -ey⋅ing.
Use lackey in a Sentence
–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To lackey
lack·ey   (lāk'ē)   
n.   pl. lack·eys

  1. A liveried male servant; a footman.

  2. 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.]
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

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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