lackey
or lac·quey
[lak-ee]
- a servile follower; toady.
- a footman or liveried manservant.
Show More
- to attend as a lackey does.
Show More
Origin of lackey
1520–30; < Middle French laquais, perhaps < Catalan lacayo, alacayo < ?
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for lackey
Contemporary Examples
A buck-naked Jamal—don't ask—is dealing with the lackey by beating him in a bathroom.
When Wayne returns, the U.S. government sends its lackey Superman to pound some sense into Batman.
Last term Netanyahu gave the post to his lackey Yuval Steinitz, who was never heard from again.
Opposition leaders criticized him for being a Kremlin lackey.
Most important, his people do not see him as a lackey of the United States.
Historical Examples
A lackey had been discharged for some cause or other, and it was believed he had taken it.
Wilfrid CumbermedeGeorge MacDonald
You talk glibly of ruining—but then you talk to a groom and lackey.
The Historical Nights' EntertainmentRafael Sabatini
To let the lackey live would be to have the bargelli in the house by morning.
The Historical Nights' EntertainmentRafael Sabatini
She paused, however, and, turning to the lackey who followed at her heels.
The Suitors of YvonneRaphael Sabatini
The lackey who was summoned did not know where the lady might be found, nor when she might return to Paris.
The Suitors of YvonneRaphael Sabatini
lackey
- a servile follower; hanger-on
- a liveried male servant or valet
- a person who is treated like a servant
Show More
- (when intr, often foll by for) to act as a lackey (to)
Show More
Also (rare): lacquey
Word Origin
C16: via French laquais, from Old French, perhaps from Catalan lacayo, alacayo; perhaps related to alcalde
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for lackey
n.
1520s, "footman, running footman, valet," from Middle French laquais "foot soldier, footman, servant" (15c.), of unknown origin; perhaps from Old Provençal lacai, from lecai "glutton, covetous," from lecar "to lick." Alternative etymology is via French from Catalan alacay, from Arabic al-qadi "the judge." Yet another guess traces it through Spanish lacayo, from Italian lacchè, from Modern Greek oulakes, from Turkish ulak "runner, courier." This suits the original sense better, but OED says Italian lacchè is from French. Sense of "servile follower" appeared 1580s. As a political term of abuse it dates from 1939 in communist jargon.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper