varletry means the rabble; the crowd; the mob. It carries an Arena rating of 1382, earned across 26 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, varletry ranks #2,486 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #3,179 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #3,281 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #4,680 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
varletry is pronounced /ˈvɑː(ɹ)lɪtɹi/.
Why “varletry” is a great word
VARLETRY — [Noun] A contemptuous collective term for the common mob, specifically the lowest and most menial class of people. Formed within English from varlet (a menial attendant or rascal, from Old French valet, "young servant") and the noun-forming suffix -ry (denoting a class or condition); it was first recorded in English use circa 1606. Unlike "populace," which neutrally describes a community's inhabitants, or "aristocracy," which denotes a hereditary elite, varletry carries the scent of the street and the stain of servitude. It is the jostling press of bodies at a public hanging, the grimy hands clutching at a nobleman's carriage, and the collective, guttural murmur of those who own nothing but their own brute strength—the ever-present, churning mass against which civilization nervously defines itself.
Etymology
Compare Old French valeterie (“young unmarried nobles”).
noun
- The rabble; the crowd; the mob.e.g.“the shouting varletry of censuring Rome” — c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, a
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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