richard
n. countablen. a very rude or funny way to call someone a 'dick' or a jerk. It uses a common man's name as a joke because that name is often shortened to 'Dick'.
n. a derogatory slang term for a contemptible or obnoxious person. It functions as a euphemistic or ironic substitute for the vulgarity 'dick', based on the traditional diminutive of the proper name.
Don't be such a Richard to your sister.
He was acting like a total Richard at the party, so everyone eventually stopped talking to him.
The comedian's routine relied on the audience's familiarity with the name's common nickname to land a series of puns about a particularly difficult boss named Richard.
From Middle English Rycharde, from Old French Richard, from Medieval Latin Richardus and Ricohardus, from Frankish Rīkahard, from Proto-Germanic Rīkaharduz, a construction of rīks (“king, ruler”) + harduz (“hard, brave”). Cognate with Old High German Rīcohard (“Richard”). A hypothetical Old English equivalent *Rīċheard would also yield an identical "Richard" in Modern English, though it is unknown if the Old English equivalent existed.
Clipping of Richard III (Richard the Third).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Used as a common noun in this slang sense; often preceded by the indefinite article or a qualifier like 'total'.
Last updated May 2, 2026