lackey
- 01 C1 Advanced
n.someone who follows a powerful person and does boring or dishonest tasks for them just to please them.
n.a person who is willing to obey or serve another person in a fawning or servile way, often used as a derogatory term for a subordinate.
Simple“The politician was always surrounded by lackeys who agreed with everything he said.”
In context“The CEO refused to listen to dissenting opinions, preferring the company of lackeys who would never challenge his authority.”
UsageUsually used as a derogatory label to imply the person has no dignity or independent thought.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
n.a male servant who wears a special uniform, usually in a large, old-fashioned house.
n.a uniformed male servant or footman, typically in a historical or highly formal domestic context.
Simple“In the old movie, a lackey opened the carriage door for the duchess.”
In context“The grand estate required a small army of lackeys and maids to maintain the rigorous standards of the Victorian era.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is mostly found in historical novels or period dramas; modern speakers almost always use the 'servile follower' meaning.
- 03 C2 Proficiency
v.to follow and serve someone in a way that shows you have no self-respect.
v.to wait upon or serve someone in an obsequiously submissive manner.
Simple“He spent his whole career lackeying for the governor in hopes of a promotion.”
In context“The courtier was known for lackeying to the king, performing even the most menial tasks with an exaggerated show of devotion.”
UsageThe verb is transitive when it means to attend someone, but can be used intransitively in older texts.
“Vox leader Santiago Abascal meanwhile said Sánchez was "at the service, like a lackey, of the Moroccan regime".”
“Not everything is the fault of the US government and its corporate lackeys.”
Borrowed from Middle French laquais, which is probably (via Old Occitan lacai?) from Spanish lacayo, itself perhaps from Italian lacchè and Greek λακές (lakés), from Turkish ulak. Another possibility is through French, from Catalan alacay, from Arabic الْقَائِد (al-qāʔid). See French laquais.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.