palliard

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UK/ˈpælɪəd/UK/ˈpælɪɑːd/US/ˈpæljɚd/

noun

A beggar or vagrant, especially a professional one; (earlier especially) a lecher.

OriginMiddle English payllart ← Middle French paillard →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nounpalliard (plural palliards)

plural palliards · alternative paillard

  1. archaicA beggar or vagrant, especially a professional one; (earlier especially) a lecher.

    A most luxurious and effeminate Palliard he was.

    1614, Walter Raleigh, Hist. World, II, page 476
    1 more example

    They all knew him. A palliard, some said on Henley Street, a wild rogue.

    1964, Anthony Burgess, Nothing Like the Sun

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
beggarvagabond

Origin

  1. Middle Frenchpaillard
  2. Middle Englishpayllart
  3. Englishpalliard

From Middle English payllart (1484), Middle French paillard, from Middle French paille (“straw”).

More words from Middle English, Middle French

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

paillard
Cite this entry
APA

palliard. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/palliard

MLA

“palliard.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/palliard. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “palliard,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/palliard.

Source: palliard on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.