Varment

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small wild animal regarded as a nuisance or pest ; a mischievous, irritating or disreputable person, often said affectionately of a child
2. An unwanted wild creature that damages crops or property ; a rascally, pesky individual, sometimes used fondly for a naughty child
3. A vexing wild beast considered a pest to farms or homes ; a cheeky or troublesome rogue, often a playful term for a young scamp

Etymology: "Varment" is a dialect spelling of "varmint," and the wording of the word shows how a dialect pronunciation can outrun its spelling. Its base is "vermin," which is a dialectal form of a Latin word meaning "worm," so the word has roots in the idea of small creeping creatures that were pests. Dictionaries date the form to around the 1530s to 1540s. The pronunciation of "varmint" owes something to a sound change in which "er" was lowered to "ar," the same shift seen in "carve" and "starve," which were once "kerven" and "sterven" in Middle English. The final syllable was probably reshaped by analogy with "-ment," as in "parchment," which was once "parchemyn." Some scholars have also suggested a link to the Latin "vargus," meaning "bandit" or "scoundrel," but the vowel change is better explained by the sound shift alone.

Synonyms: varmint, pest