Definition

1. Noun:
   • A youth serving as a knight's attendant: In medieval times, a young man who acted as an attendant to a knight, often as the first stage of training to become a knight himself.
   • A deceitful and unreliable person; a scoundrel: (Archaic) A man who is dishonest, untrustworthy, or of low character.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Medieval attendant):

  • The young varlet carried the knight's shield and lance.
  • His first duty as a varlet was to care for the knight's horse.

• Noun (Scoundrel):

  • "Away, you vile varlet!" the lord shouted at the cheating servant.
  • The story warned of a varlet who would steal from his own family.

Advanced Usage

• Historical/Literary Context: The word "varlet" is now archaic. It is primarily used in historical writing, literature set in medieval times, or for deliberate archaic effect.
  • The novel's dialogue was filled with terms like "varlet" and "knave" to evoke the period.
• As an insult: Historically used as a term of contempt, similar to "rogue" or "knave."
  • The merchant called the thief a "lying varlet" before the guards arrived.

Variants and Related Words

• Valet: (Noun) A personal male attendant, especially one who looks after a man's clothes and appearance. This modern word shares a common origin with "varlet" but has a different meaning and is not archaic.
  • He rang for his valet to prepare his evening suit.

Synonyms

• For the attendant meaning: page, attendant, squire (a later stage of training).
• For the scoundrel meaning: rogue, knave, rascal, scoundrel, villain.

Related Phrases

• "Varlet of the bedchamber": (Historical) A specific, often low-ranking, servant position in a royal or noble household.
  • He was appointed a varlet of the bedchamber, responsible for basic tasks.

Notes on Meaning

• The two primary meanings of "varlet" reflect its historical evolution. It originally denoted a servant or attendant (a neutral or even respectable role for a youth). Over time, it acquired a strongly negative connotation, becoming a general term for a disreputable man, likely because such servants were sometimes viewed as lowly or mischievous. In modern understanding, the "scoundrel" meaning is the more commonly recognized, though the word is rarely used in contemporary speech.

Noun

1. in medieval times a youth acting as a knight's attendant as the first stage in training for knighthood
2. a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel