Rapscallion

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹæpˈskæljən/

Definitions

1. A mischievous or dishonest person, especially one who is unscrupulous or engages in petty wrongdoing
2. A deceitful and unprincipled individual prone to roguish behavior and minor criminal acts
3. An untrustworthy scoundrel who engages in sneaky misconduct and petty deception

Etymology: Rapscallion began life as a joke on a joke. Its base is "rascal," a word that in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries described a worthless, lowborn person, but "rapscallion" took that old insult and stretched it into something more playful, with a fanciful extra syllable added to the end. The result is an alteration of "rascallion," itself a deliberate elaboration of "rascal," so the word is a chain of embellishments rather than a single inherited term. The added sounds did real work. Each change made the word sound more comically exaggerated than the plain "rascal" it grew from, which is why it tends to be used with affection, for a naughty child or a scheming but likable character, rather than as a flat accusation. Its sense of mischief is built into its very shape.

Synonyms: scoundrel, rogue

Antonyms: hero, champion