www.alphadictionary.com

Speaking of unsavory people . . .

varlet

SYLLABICATION: var·let
PRONUNCIATION: vär' lĭt
NOUN: 1. An attendant or servant. 2. A knight's page. 3. A rascal; a knave.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, from Old French, variant of vaslet. See valet.


The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Etymology:

varlet
1456, "servant, attendant of a knight," from M.Fr. varlet (14c.), variant of vaslet, originally "squire, young man," from O.Fr. vassal (see vassal). The meaning "rascal, rogue" is 1550.

Which reminds me of one of Will's favorites:

sirrah

SYLLABICATION: sir·rah
NOUN: Obsolete Mister; fellow. Used as a contemptuous form of address.
ETYMOLOGY: Alteration of sir.

derived further from sire.

After a glance at the definitions in this thread, I suspect that Norman Douglas was not the first to observe that "Distrust of authority should be the first civic duty."

-gailr