knave means A boy; especially, a boy servant. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 70 out of 100.
knave is pronounced /neɪv/.
Why “knave” is a great word
KNAVE — [Noun] A dishonest or unscrupulous man, characterized by petty, deceitful cunning. From Middle English knave, from Old English cnafa ("boy, youth, male servant"), from Proto-West Germanic *knabō. Unlike "rogue," which often implies a charming or mischievous unscrupulousness, or "villain," which suggests a principal evildoer of narrative scope, a knave is defined by servile, self-serving malice. He is the card-sharp with a marked deck in a dim tavern, the sycophant whispering calumny in his master's ear, the faithless steward pilfering the grain while bowing low—a portrait of betrayal rendered not in the bold strokes of tragedy, but in the weary hues of contempt.
Etymology
From Middle English knave, knafe, from Old English cnafa (“child, boy, youth; servant”), from Proto-West Germanic *knabō. Cognate to Dutch knaap and German Knabe.
noun
- A boy; especially, a boy servant.
- Any male servant; a menial.“Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave that, doting on his own obsequious bondage, wears out his time, much like his master's ass, For naught but provender, and when he's old – cashier'd! Whip me such honest knaves.”
- A tricky, deceitful fellow; a dishonest person.“I could plainly diſcover from whence one Family derives a long Chin; why a ſecond hath abounded with Knaves for two Generations, and Fools for two more; why a third happened to be crack-brained, and a fourth to be Sharpers.”
- A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or a soldier.