syc·o·phant
(s k  -fnt, s k-)
n.
A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by
flattering influential people.
[Latin s
 cophanta, informer,
slanderer, from Greek s kophant s, informer, from
skon
phainein, to show a fig (probably originally said of denouncers of theft
or exportation of figs) : skon, fig +
phainein, to show; see bh -1 in Indo-European
roots.]
syc
 o·phantic (-f ntk), syco·phanti·cal (-t-kl) adj.
syc
o·phanti·cal·ly
adv. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009.
Published by Houghton
Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Mom's no sycophant and she cannot abide those who are.
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