varmint
/ˈvɑɹmɪnt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.15 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A pestilent or predatory ground-borne animal, especially one that kills or harasses a farmer's animals or crops.
noun
An obnoxious person or troublemaker.
Example Sentences
- "Its windows were merely open spaces in the walls, which in the summertime were covered with greasy strips of cheesecloth to keep out the varmints that feasted on Maycomb’s refuse. The varmints had a lean time of it,[…]"
- "You'd be but a fierce young hound indeed, if at your time of life you could help to hunt a wretched warmint, hunted as near death and dunghill as this poor wretched warmint is!"
Etymology
Dialectal form of vermin, derived from Latin vermis (“worm”), c. 1530–1540s. Perhaps influenced by Latin vargus (“bandit, outlaw, scoundrel”), though the pronunciation in /ɑː(ɹ)/ is more likely due to the same lowering of /ɛr/ > /ar/ found in carve < Middle English kerven and starve < Middle English sterven. The final syllable is probably altered after -ment; compare parchment < Middle English parchemyn.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈvɑɹmɪnt/
- British English: /ˈvɑːmɪnt/