sycophant

English

/ˈsɪkəfænt/

noun
Definitions
  • One who uses obsequious compliments to gain self-serving favor or advantage from another; a servile flatterer.
  • One who seeks to gain through the powerful and influential.
  • (obsolete) An informer; a talebearer.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sȳcophanta (trickster, informer) derived from Ancient Greek συκοφάντης (informant, slanderer) root from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (speak, shine, say, glow).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*bʰeh₂-

Gloss

speak, shine, say, glow

Concept
Semantic Field

Speech and language

Ontological Category

Action/Process

Kanji

話

Emoji
🗣️ 🗣️ 🙊

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms