What does varlet mean?
Varlet is an old-fashioned English noun for a scoundrel, rogue, or thoroughly contemptible person. Its present-day force is strongly derogatory and literary rather than ordinary: calling someone a varlet presents that person as base, dishonest, or unworthy of trust. The word also preserves an older, largely obsolete sense meaning a young man, especially a page or attendant, a usage that helps explain the striking reversal in its reputation. Once a comparatively neutral social designation, varlet acquired an increasingly hostile meaning and eventually made that insulting sense dominant. Shakespeare, for instance, could use the word as an emphatic term of abuse. For modern speakers, varlet is chiefly interesting because it combines a formal, archaic sound with a severe personal judgment. It is therefore more suited to deliberately elevated narration, quotation, or character-focused dialogue than to neutral contemporary description. Although dictionaries record the historical page sense, using that sense today would normally sound obscure unless a writer were deliberately recreating an earlier setting.
nounAn archaic and literary term for a scoundrel, rogue, or contemptible person. In older usage, it could also denote a young man, especially a page or attendant.
- A scoundrel, rogue, or contemptible person.
- Archaic: a young man, especially a page or attendant serving a knight.
"With that sneer, he proved himself the very varlet the village had warned her about."
"The speaker branded him a varlet and ordered the guards to remove him."
"In the old romance, the varlet carried the knight’s banner through the ruined hall."
The regular plural is varlets.
"The novel treats the two varlets as rogues from the outset."
Varlet began life as a word for a young page, then became one of English’s fiercest labels for a scoundrel.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does varlet come from?
The English word entered Middle English as varlet, borrowed from Old French varlet. Old French usage included both a young man or page and, contemptuously, a scoundrel; English retained the disparaging sense and eventually made it dominant. Related forms include the Middle English variant varlot and the Romance form varlete, while French valet developed from the same Old French source with the modern meaning of an attendant.
How varlet is actually used
Chiefly archaic or literary and strongly derogatory when referring to a scoundrel. The older sense meaning a young man or page is now obscure and would normally require a deliberately historical context.
Easily confused with varlet
A varlet is a scoundrel or contemptible person, whereas a valet is a male personal attendant, especially one who serves in a hotel or household.