varlet - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

var·let

Audio Help [vahr-lit] Pronunciation Key

–noun Archaic.

1.	a knavish person; rascal.

a.	an attendant or servant.

b.	a page who serves a knight.

[Origin: 1425–75; late ME < MF; var. of valet

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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varlet

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

var·let Audio Help (vär'lĭt) Pronunciation Key
n.

An attendant or servant.
A knight's page.
A rascal; a knave.

[Middle English, from Old French, variant of vaslet; see valet.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
varlet

1456, "servant, attendant of a knight," from M.Fr. varlet (14c.), variant of vaslet, originally "squire, young man," from O.Fr. vassal (see vassal). The meaning "rascal, rogue" is 1550.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

varlet
noun
1.	a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel [syn: rogue]
2.	in medieval times a youth acting as a knight's attendant as the first stage in training for knighthood [syn: page]