Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Varlet"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Varlet \Var"let\, n. [OF. varlet, vaslet, vallet, servant, young
man, young noble, dim of vassal. See {Vassal}, and cf.
{Valet}.]
1. A servant, especially to a knight; an attendant; a valet;
a footman. [Obs.] --Spenser. Tusser.
2. Hence, a low fellow; a scoundrel; a rascal; as, an
impudent varlet.
What a brazen-faced varlet art thou ! --Shak.
3. In a pack of playing cards, the court card now called the
knave, or jack. [Obs.]
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
varlet
n 1: a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel [syn: {rogue}, {knave},
{rascal}, {rapscallion}, {scalawag}, {scallywag}]
2: in medieval times a youth acting as a knight's attendant as
the first stage in training for knighthood [syn: {page}]
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