miscreant

English

WOTD – 27 April 2009

Alternative forms

• miscreaunt (obsolete)

Etymology

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

• Czech: ničemný
• German: gewissenloser Mensch m, Übeltäter (de) m, Schurke (de) m

• Russian: развращённый (ru) (razvraščónnyj)

holding an incorrect religious belief

• Czech: kacířský
• Esperanto: άπιστος
• French: mécréant (fr)

• German: Ungläubiger (de) m, Ketzer (de) m
• Russian: еретический (ru) (jeretičeskij)
• Serbo-Croatian: heretički (sh)

Noun

miscreant (plural miscreants)

1. One who has behaved badly, or illegally.
   • 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: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i], page 23, column 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:

   The teacher sent the miscreants to see the school principal.

2. One not restrained by moral principles; an unscrupulous villain.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Addison to this entry?)

3. (theology) One who holds a false religious belief; a misbeliever.
   • (Can we date this quote by Spencer and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)

     Arise thou cursed Miscreaunt,

     That hast with knightlesse guile and trecherous train

     Faire knighthood fowly shamed

   (Can we find and add a quotation of De Quincey to this entry?)

   • (Can we date this quote by Rivers and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)

     Thou oughtest not to be slothful to the destruction of the miscreants, but to constrain them to obey our Lord God.

Quotations

• For quotations of use of 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

one not restrained by moral principles

• Czech: ničema (cs) m

one who holds a false religious belief; an unbeliever

• Arabic: فَاسِق‎ m (fāsiq)
• Czech: kacíř (cs) m, nevěrec m
• French: mécréant (fr) m, mécréante (fr) f

• German: Missetäter m, Missetäterin f
• Serbo-Croatian: heretik (sh), bezvjerac (sh), bezbožnik (sh)
• Turkish: fasık (tr)

Anagrams

• Encratism, minecarts