Comments on: What does scalawag mean?

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 22:30:00 +0000

In reply to Bob. Thanks, Bob. Etymology is endlessly interesting, don't you think?

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 21:37:00 +0000

I see Holt has a couple more suggestions for derivation; the Scottish “scurryvaig” (a vagabond), itself probably from the latin “Scurra vagus” (a wandering buffoon)

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 05:26:00 +0000

In reply to Bob. Interesting! My father was English so perhaps that was how I internalized the British spelling.

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 16:48:00 +0000

I remember it as scallywag, the spelling most often used in Britain, and I notice that Collins mentions it as originally meaning an undersized animal.