sycophant means one who uses obsequious compliments to gain self-serving favour or advantage from another; a servile flatterer. It carries an Arena rating of 1762, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, sycophant ranks #86 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #315 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,454 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #1,478 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
sycophant is pronounced /ˈsɪkəfænt/.
Why “sycophant” is a great word
A person who uses obsequious flattery to gain favor or advantage from someone in power. From the Ancient Greek σῦκον (sûkon, "fig") + φαίνω (phaínō, "to show"), via Latin sȳcophanta ("informer, trickster"), first attested in English in 1537. Unlike an adulator, who may flatter out of mere habit, or an informer, who trades in facts, the sycophant is a creature of calculated, upward grovel. It is the oily murmur in the ear of the prince, the relentless, mirroring nod in the boardroom, the laugh that is always a half-beat too quick and a note too loud—the performance of submission as a strategic investment in one's own ascent.
Etymology
First attested in 1537. From Latin sȳcophanta (“informer, trickster”), from Ancient Greek συκοφάντης (sukophántēs), itself from σῦκον (sûkon, “fig”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “to show, demonstrate”). The gesture of "showing the fig" was a vulgar one, which was made by sticking the thumb between two fingers, a display which vaguely resembles a fig, which is itself symbolic of a σῦκον (sûkon), which also meant vulva. The story behind this etymology is that politicians in ancient Greece steered clear of displaying that vulgar gesture, but secretly urged their followers to taunt their opponents by using it. Cognate with Italian sicofante, Spanish sicofanta.
noun
- One who uses obsequious compliments to gain self-serving favour or advantage from another; a servile flatterer.e.g.“A sycophant will everything admire: / Each verse, each sentence, sets his soul on fire” — 1683, John Dryden, The Art of Poetry:
- One who seeks to gain through the powerful and influential.
- An informer; a talebearer.e.g.“[H]is mind had no eye to espy goodness; and therefore accusing sycophants, of all men, did best sort to his nature.” — a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: [
verb
- To inform against; hence, to calumniate.e.g.“As therefore he began in the title, so in the next leaf he makes it his first business to tamper with his reader by sycophanting and misnaming the work of his adversary.” — 1642, John Milton, Apology for Smectymnuus:
- To play the sycophant toward; to flatter obsequiously.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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