sycophant : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: sycophant	by the DICT Development Group
4 results for sycophant
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
sycophant n a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage Synonym(s): sycophant, toady, crawler, lackey, ass-kisser
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Sycophant \Syc"ophant\, v. t. [CF. L. sycophantari to deceive, to trick, Gr. [?].] 1. To inform against; hence, to calumniate. [Obs.] Sycophanting and misnaming the work of his adversary. --Milton. 2. To play the sycophant* toward; to flatter obsequiously.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Sycophant \Syc"ophant\, n. [L. sycophanta a slanderer, deceiver, parasite, Gr. [?] a false accuser, false adviser, literally, a fig shower; [?] a fig + [?] to show: cf. F. sycophante. The reason for the name is not certainly known. See {Phenomenon}.] 1. An informer; a talebearer. [Obs.] [bd]Accusing sycophants, of all men, did best sort to his nature.[b8] --Sir P. Sidney. 2. A base parasite; a mean or servile flatterer; especially, a flatterer of princes and great men. A sycophant* will everything admire: Each verse, each sentence, sets his soul on fire. --Dryden.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Sycophant \Syc"o*phant\, v. i. To play the sycophant.