# rascal

Pronunciation: US say "RAS-kuhl" /ˈɹæskl̩/; UK say "RAHS-kuhl" /ˈɹɑːskl̩/

## Noun

1. A cheeky person or animal that makes mischief; a troublemaker, sometimes said fondly of a child or small creature.
   - Simple: A person or animal that is cheeky and causes small trouble.
   - _Grandpa laughed and called the toddler a little rascal when she hid his glasses again._
   - _The squirrels are clever rascals and keep raiding the bird feeder._
2. A dishonest person who cheats or tricks others; a scoundrel.
   - Simple: A person who is not honest and tricks other people.
   - _The investors finally realized their trusted adviser was a rascal who had been skimming their accounts for years._
   - _Angry voters promised to throw the rascals out and elect honest leaders._
3. A gangster; someone who takes part in crimes such as robbery as a member of a gang. *(dialectal, Papua New Guinea)*
   - Simple: A person who belongs to a gang of criminals.
   - _Police said a gang of rascals was behind the string of armed robberies in the capital._
   - _A former rascal who quit his gang now helps young men in Port Moresby find steady work._

## Adjective

4. Low or lowly in rank; belonging to the common rabble. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Low in rank and belonging to the common crowd.
   - _The nobles rode past the rascal throng at the gates without a glance._
   - _The captain had nothing but contempt for the rascal followers who trailed behind the army._

## Origin

Recorded since c. 1330 as Middle English rascaile, "people of the lowest class, rabble of an army", from 12th-century Old French rascaille, "outcast, rabble" (modern French racaille), perhaps from rasque, "mud, filth, scab, dregs", from Vulgar Latin *rasicō, "to scrape". The singular is first attested in 1461, and the sense "low, dishonest person" dates from 1586.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/rascal (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).