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Added 9 October 2026

knave

/neɪv/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about knave at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel.
One of four face cards in a deck bearing a picture of a young prince.

Origin

From Middle English knave, knafe, from Old English cnafa (“child, boy, youth; servant”), from Proto-West Germanic *knabō. Cognate to Dutch knaap and German Knabe.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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