miscreant

English

WOTD – 27 April 2009

Alternative forms

• miscreaunt (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English myscreaunt, miscreaunt, from Old French mescreant (1080) "mis-believer", present participle of mescreire "to misbelieve" (modern mécroire).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: mĭsʹkrē-ənt, IPA^(key): /ˈmɪs.kɹi.ənt/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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Adjective

miscreant (comparative more miscreant, superlative most miscreant)

1. Lacking in conscience or moral principles; unscrupulous.
2. (theology) Holding an incorrect religious belief.

Translations

lacking in conscience or moral principles; unscrupulous

• Bulgarian: низък (bg) (nizǎk), подъл (bg) (podǎl)
• Czech: ničemný
• German: gewissenloser Mensch m, Übeltäter (de) m, Schurke (de) m
• Macedonian: по́дол (pódol)
• Russian: развращённый (ru) (razvraščónnyj)
• Swedish: skurkaktig (sv), samvetslös (sv)

holding an incorrect religious belief

• Bulgarian: еретически (bg) (eretičeski)
• Czech: kacířský (cs)
• French: mécréant (fr)
• German: Ungläubiger (de) m, Ketzer (de) m
• Greek: άπιστος (el) (ápistos)
• Macedonian: ере́тички (erétički)
• Middle English: myscreaunt
• Russian: еретический (ru) (jeretičeskij)
• Serbo-Croatian: heretički (sh)

Noun

miscreant (plural miscreants)

1. One who has behaved badly, or illegally.

   The teacher sent the miscreants to see the school principal.

   • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 23, columns 1–2:

     Thou art a Traitor, and a Miſcreant;
     Too good to be ſo, and too bad to liue,
     Since the more faire and chriſtall is the skie,
     The vglier ſeeme the cloudes that in it flye:

2. One not restrained by moral principles; an unscrupulous villain.
   • a. 1719, Joseph Addison, A Riddle of Dean Swift's verfified:

     A meagre Catchpole hurries me to fail; No Miscreant, so remorseless, ever tore
     Thy Journals, Fog, or knock'd at Franklin's door

3. (theology) One who holds a false religious belief; a misbeliever.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:

     Now wil the Chriſtian miſcreants be glad,
     Ringing with ioy their ſuperſtitious belles:
     And making bonfires for my ouerthrow.
     But ere I die thoſe foule Idolaters
     Shall make me bonfires with their filthy bones, […]

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 41:

     Arise thou cursed Miscreaunt,
     That hast with knightlesse guile and trecherous train
     Faire knighthood fowly shamed

   • 1825, Thomas De Quincey, “The Love-charm”, in Quarterly Magazine, Knight:

     Before thine eyes, thou mild and blessed one, said he, half aloud, are these miscreants daring to hold their market, and trafficking in their hellish drugs

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:miscreant.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:troublemaker
• See also Thesaurus:villain

Translations

one who has behaved badly or illegally

• Czech: ničema (cs) m
• Serbo-Croatian: izgrednik
• Spanish: facineroso
• Swedish: ogärningsman (sv) c, missdådare (sv) c, ligist (sv) c

one not restrained by moral principles

• Bulgarian: злодей (bg) m (zlodej)
• Czech: ničema (cs) m
• Swedish: missdådare (sv) c

one who holds a false religious belief; an unbeliever

• Arabic: فَاسِق‎ m (fāsiq)
• Bulgarian: еретик (bg) (eretik)
• Czech: kacíř (cs) m, nevěrec m
• French: mécréant (fr) m, mécréante (fr) f, parpaillot (fr) m
• German: Missetäter (de) m, Missetäterin (de) f
• Macedonian: ере́тик m (erétik)
• Middle English: myscreaunt
• Serbo-Croatian: heretik (sh), bezvjerac (sh), bezbožnik (sh)
• Turkish: fasık (tr)

Anagrams

• Encratism, minecarts