sycophant
Use Sycophant in a sentence
ə noun
a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.
Origin:
1530–40; < Latin sȳcophanta < Greek sȳkophántēs informer, equivalent to sŷko(n) fig + phan- (stem of phaínein to show) + -tēs agentive suffix
1530–40; < Latin sȳcophanta < Greek sȳkophántēs informer, equivalent to sŷko(n) fig + phan- (stem of phaínein to show) + -tēs 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.
toady, yes man, flunky, fawner, flatterer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To sycophant
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Sycophant
is an SAT word you need to know.
So is perpetual. Does it mean:
| friendship; peaceful harmony |
| continuing or enduring forever; everlasting. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
sycophant (ˈsɪkəfənt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| a person who uses flattery to win favour from individuals wielding influence; toady | |
| [C16: from Latin sӯcophanta, from Greek sukophantēs, literally: the person showing a fig, apparently referring to the fig sign used in making an accusation, from sukon fig + phainein to show; sense probably developed from ``accuser'' to ``informer, flatterer''] | |
| 'sycophancy | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
By a revolution in the state, the fawning sycophant of yesterday is converted into the austere critic of the present hour.
The hiring committee then consisted of the head and one sycophant who always agreed with him.
Yet she was no sycophant, she had her own brand of mockery and shared his insouciance about patronage.
But history will likely remember him as the ultimate sycophant, the loyal sidekick.
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