sycophant

n. 奉承者, 谄媚者, 追随者 a. 拍马的, 奉承的

发音

US /ˈsɪkəfænt/

词形变化

sycophants 复数 sycophants sycophanted sycophanting sycophants 三单 sycophanting 现在分词 sycophanted 过去式 sycophanted 过去分词

别名

psychophant syncophant

释义与例句

n.
  1. 1.

    One who uses obsequious compliments to gain self-serving favour or advantage from another; a servile flatterer.

    巴儿狗

    擦鞋仔

    擦鞋狗

  2. 2.

    One who seeks to gain through the powerful and influential.

  3. 3.

    An informer; a talebearer.

    废旧
v.
  1. 1.

    To inform against; hence, to calumniate.

    废旧 及物
  2. 2.

    To play the sycophant toward; to flatter obsequiously.

    罕用 及物

词汇关系

名词

同义词 4

lackey crawler toady ass-kisser

上位词 2

flatterer adulator

下位词 7

goody-goody apple-polisher bootlicker fawner groveler groveller truckler

词源

First attested in 1537. From Latin sȳcophanta (“informer, trickster”), from Ancient Greek συκοφάντης (sukophántēs), itself from σῦκον (sûkon, “fig”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “to show, demonstrate”). The gesture of "showing the fig" was a vulgar one, which was made by sticking the thumb between two fingers, a display which vaguely resembles a fig, which is itself symbolic of a σῦκον (sûkon), which also meant vulva. The story behind this etymology is that politicians in ancient Greece steered clear of displaying that vulgar gesture, but secretly urged their followers to taunt their opponents by using it. Cognate with Italian sicofante, Spanish sicofanta.

来源：wiktionary