Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Informal A reprobate; a rascal.
  • noun A white Southerner working for or supporting the federal government during Reconstruction.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An under-sized, scraggy, or ill-fed animal of little value.
  • noun A worthless, good-for-nothing, or contemptible fellow; a scamp; a scapegrace.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Slang, U.S. A scamp; a scapegrace.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun pejorative, US, archaic Any white Southerner who supported the federal plan of Reconstruction after the Civil War or who joined with the black freedmen and the carpetbaggers in support of Republican Party policies.
  • noun pejorative, archaic A rascal. Alternative spelling of scallywag.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun one who is playfully mischievous
  • noun a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
  • noun a white Southerner who supported Reconstruction policies after the American Civil War (usually for self-interest)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Of Irish origin, "scalawag" refers to a "rascal" and is probably from sgalog a labourer.

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Examples

Comments

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  • See also scallywag.

    April 26, 2008

  • See also scallywag.

    April 26, 2008