Why “sycophancy” is a great word
SYCOPHANCY — [Noun] The act of behaving obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage, characterized by servile flattery and fawning. From Latin sȳcophantia, from Ancient Greek σῡκοφαντία (sūkophantía, "false accusation, slander"), from σῦκον (sŷkon, "fig") and φαίνειν (phaínein, "to show"), originally referring to an informer who revealed fig smugglers or made false accusations; first attested in English c. 1620. Unlike adulation, which implies excessive but often genuine admiration, or deference, which denotes a sincere, respectful yielding, sycophancy is the conscious trade of dignity for profit. It is the calibrated laugh at a superior’s weak joke, the eager mirroring of opinion in a boardroom, the careful erosion of one’s own spine for proximity to power—a commerce where the soul is the smallest coin.