Medieval · insult · noun
Knave
NAYV /neɪv/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recordedbefore 1100
Old English (before 1100); 'rogue' sense by c. 1200
At first simply 'boy' or 'male servant'. By about 1200 it had slid, via 'menial' and 'low-born fellow', into 'rogue, rascal' — a tricky, dishonest man. Since the 1560s it has also named the jack in a pack of cards.
Where it was first recorded
Late Old English 'cnafa' — first recorded date per Etymonline and Merriam-Webster ('before the 12th century'); work not named.
Also spelled: cnafa (Old English)
In its own time
A knave; a rascal; an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave;
Today
Modern exampleThe knave promised to pay me back on Friday and then switched off his phone.
Harmless and theatrical — widely understood, playful rather than wounding.
Questions
What does knave mean?
At first simply 'boy' or 'male servant'. By about 1200 it had slid, via 'menial' and 'low-born fellow', into 'rogue, rascal' — a tricky, dishonest man. Since the 1560s it has also named the jack in a pack of cards.
When was knave first used?
It is first recorded Old English (before 1100); 'rogue' sense by c. 1200 — late Old English 'cnafa' — first recorded date per Etymonline and Merriam-Webster ('before the 12th century'); work not named.
Can you still use knave today?
Harmless and theatrical — widely understood, playful rather than wounding.
Sources
- knave — Etymonline (Online Etymology Dictionary)
- knave — Merriam-Webster
- knave — Wiktionary
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (King Lear) — Project Gutenberg
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above