rascal

The story

1. Vulgar Latin · derived from*rasicō“to scrape”
2. Old French · derived fromrascaille“outcast, rabble”
3. Middle English · inherited fromrascaile“people of the lowest class, rabble of an army”
4. English todayrascal

Recorded since c.1330, as Middle English rascaile (“people of the lowest class, rabble of an army”), derived from 12th century Old French rascaille (“outcast, rabble”) (modern French racaille), perhaps from rasque (“mud, filth, scab, dregs”), from Vulgar Latin *rasicō (“to scrape”). The singular form is first attested in 1461; the present extended sense of "low, dishonest person" is from early 1586.