8 results for: sycophant
syc·o·phant
Audio Help [sik-uh-fuh
nt, -fant, sahy-kuh-] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [sik-uh-fuh
nt, -fant, sahy-kuh-] Pronunciation Key –noun
| a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite. |
[Origin: 1530–40; < L sȳcophanta < Gk sȳkophántés informer, equiv. to sŷko(n) fig + phan- (s. of phaínein to show) + -tés agentive suffix
]
] —Related forms
syc·o·phan·tic, syc·o·phan·ti·cal, syc·o·phant·ish, adjective
syc·o·phan·ti·cal·ly, syc·o·phant·ish·ly, adverb
syc·o·phant·ism, noun
—Synonyms toady, yes man, flunky, fawner, flatterer.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
sycophant
To learn more about sycophant visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| syc·o·phant
Audio Help (sĭk'ə-fənt, sī'kə-) Pronunciation Key
n. A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people. [Latin sȳcophanta, informer, slanderer, from Greek sūkophantēs, informer, from sūkon phainein, to show a fig (probably originally said of denouncers of theft or exportation of figs) : sūkon, fig + phainein, to show; see bhā-1 in Indo-European roots.] syc'o·phan'tic (-fān'tĭk), syc'o·phan'ti·cal (-tĭ-kəl) adj., syc'o·phan'ti·cal·ly adv. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
sycophant
1537 (in L. form sycophanta), "informer, talebearer, slanderer," from L. sycophanta, from Gk. sykophantes, originally "one who shows the fig," from sykon "fig" + phanein "to show." "Showing the fig" was a vulgar gesture made by sticking the thumb between two fingers, a display which vaguely resembles a fig, itself symbolic of a cunt (sykon also meant "vulva"). The story goes that prominent politicians in ancient Greece held aloof from such inflammatory gestures, but privately urged their followers to taunt their opponents. The sense of "mean, servile flatterer" is first recorded in Eng. 1575.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| sycophant | |
noun | |
| a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
Sycophant
Syc"o*phant\, n. [L. sycophanta a slanderer, deceiver, parasite, Gr. ? a false accuser, false adviser, literally, a fig shower; ? a fig + ? to show: cf. F. sycophante. The reason for the name is not certainly known. See Phenomenon.]1. An informer; a talebearer. [Obs.] "Accusing sycophants, of all men, did best sort to his nature." --Sir P. Sidney. 2. A base parasite; a mean or servile flatterer; especially, a flatterer of princes and great men. A sycophant will everything admire: Each verse, each sentence, sets his soul on fire. --Dryden.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Sycophant
Syc"o*phant\, v. t. [CF. L. sycophantari to deceive, to trick, Gr. ?.]1. To inform against; hence, to calumniate. [Obs.] Sycophanting and misnaming the work of his adversary. --Milton. 2. To play the sycophant toward; to flatter obsequiously.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Sycophant
Syc"o*phant\, v. i. To play the sycophant.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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