hinderling means A worthless, degenerate person or animal. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “hinderling” is a great word
HINDERLING — [Noun] A worthless, degenerate, or contemptible person; also, the buttocks. From Middle English hinderling ("a laggard, coward"), from Old English hinderling ("a mean wretch, a sneak"), equivalent to hinder ("behind, back") + the diminutive or pejorative suffix -ling. Unlike a knave, which suggests active, cunning malevolence, or a posterior, which is clinical and neutral, a hinderling denotes a passive, inherent baseness. It is the shambling figure at the rear of a retreating army, the clammy palm that will never work, the vulgar slang hissed for the seat of scorn—a word that consigns its subject to the worthless back of all things.
Etymology
"Worthless person" sense: from Middle English hinderling (“a laggard, coward”), from Old English hinderling (“a mean wretch, a sneak”), equivalent to hinder + -ling. Compare hilding.
noun
- A worthless, degenerate person or animal.“How say you, my lusty compeers; shall we permit a hinderlin to sit at board with us, and brand us with the name of cowards?”
- The buttocks; the posterior.