Malappert

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Bold and disrespectful in a way that shows a lack of proper modesty or deference toward others
2. Forward and presumptuous, speaking or acting with an impertinence that oversteps what is appropriate
3. Describing someone who is pert and cheeky, showing unwelcome boldness in speech or conduct toward superiors

Etymology: Its opening sense was "open," and the bad reputation came later. It comes from Old French "malapert," built from "mal," meaning "bad," and "apert," meaning "open" or "plain," which descends from Latin "apertus," the past participle of "aperire," "to open." So the literal sense is something like "badly open," a person whose openness has no proper restraint. English borrowed the term in the Middle English period, when it described someone who was forward or saucy, lacking the modesty expected of a social inferior. Its meaning stayed close to that sense of pert presumption rather than moving toward outright wickedness. Its relative "apert" survived for a time in English as a plain word for "open," and the same Latin root gave English "overt" and "aperture," though those came through other French channels.