arrant

arrant
arrant (adj.) late 14c., variant of ERRANT (Cf. errant) (q.v.); at first merely derogatory, "wandering, vagrant;" then (1540s) acquiring a meaning "thoroughgoing, downright, notorious."

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Arrant — Ar rant, a. [OE. erraunt, errant, errand, equiv. to E. errant wandering, which was first applied to vagabonds, as an errant rogue, an errant thief, and hence passed gradually into its present and worse sense. See {Errant}.] Notoriously or pre[… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • arrant — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ utter; complete. DERIVATIVES arrantly adverb. ORIGIN variant of ERRANT(Cf. ↑errantry), originally in phrases such as arrant thief, meaning «outlawed, roving thief» …   English terms dictionary

  • arrant — [ar′ənt, er′ənt] adj. [var. of ERRANT] that is plainly such; out and out; notorious [an arrant fool] arrantly adv …   English World dictionary

  • arrant — I adjective abominable, atrocious, bad, base, blameworthy, contemptible, crass, damnable, despicable, disgraceful, disreputable, egregious, evil, execrable, flagitious, flagrant, foul, heinous, ignominious, immoral, infamous, lawless, low, mean,… …   Law dictionary

  • arrant — out and out, *outright, unmitigated …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • arrant — [adj] flagrant absolute, blatant, glaring, notorious, out and out, unmitigated, unregenerate; concepts 401,545,576 …   New thesaurus

  • arrant — [[t]æ̱rənt[/t]] ADJ: ADJ n (emphasis) Arrant is used to emphasize that something or someone is very bad in some way. That s the most arrant nonsense I ve ever heard. ...an arrant coward. Syn: unmitigated …   English dictionary

  • arrant — adj. downright, utter, notorious (arrant liar; arrant nonsense). Derivatives: arrantly adv. Etymology: ME, var. of ERRANT, orig. in phrases like arrant (= outlawed, roving) thief …   Useful english dictionary

  • arrant — [ ar(ə)nt] adjective literary utter; complete: what arrant nonsense! Derivatives arrantly adverb Origin ME: var. of errant, orig. in phrs such as arrant thief ( outlawed, roving thief ) …   English new terms dictionary

  • arrant — adjective Etymology: alteration of errant Date: 14th century being notoriously without moderation ; extreme < we are arrant knaves, all; believe none of us Shakespeare > • arrantly adverb …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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