schelm

See also: Schelm

English

Alternative forms

schellum
shelm
skellum

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch schelm.

Noun

schelm (plural schelms)

(Scotland) A villain or scoundrel.
- 1822, [Walter Scott], chapter VIII, in Peveril of the Peak. [...] In Four Volumes, volume II, Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., OCLC 2392685, page 201:
  Of her parents he knew nothing, except that "her father must have been a damned hundsfoot, and a schelm, for selling his own flesh and blood to Adrian Brackel;" […]

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from German Schelm or Middle Low German schelm.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /sxɛlm/
Audio (file)
Hyphenation: schelm
Rhymes: -ɛlm

Noun

schelm m (plural schelmen, diminutive schelmpje n)

(originally) rogue, scoundrel, fiend
(figuratively) imp, prankster, rascal

Derived terms

schelmenstreek, schelmerij, schelmstuk
schelmachtig, schelms
schelmenroman

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