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ras·cal

(răskəl)

1. One that is playfully mischievous.

2. An unscrupulous, dishonest person; a scoundrel.

adj.
Archaic

Made up of, belonging to, or relating to the lower classes: "Nor shall the Rascal Rabble here have Peace" (John Dryden).

[Middle English rascaile, rabble, commoners, from Old French rascaille, probably from rasque, mud, from Vulgar Latin *rāsicāre, to scrape; see RASH².]

rascal·ly adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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