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lacquey

 - 3 dictionary results

lac⋅quey

  [lak-ee] noun, plural -queys, verb (used with object), -queyed, -quey⋅ing.
Use lacquey in a Sentence
lackey.

lack⋅ey

  [lak-ee] 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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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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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