varmint English · revision 1241

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈvɑːmɪnt/ ''(UK)''; /ˈvɑɹmɪnt/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a dialect variant of [[vermin]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) first recorded as ''varment'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) with the regular change of ''er'' to ''ar'' before a consonant and an added ''t''.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Vermin, troublesome animals (1539, as ''varment'').^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The transferred sense of an objectionable or troublesome person is recorded from 1773.^(Etymonline) The spelling ''varmint'' dates from 1829, in American dialect,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and the word is now chiefly Southern and South Midland in the United States.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1539 – ''varment'', vermin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1773 – a troublesome person.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1829 – the spelling ''varmint'', American dialect.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(chiefly US dialect)'' An animal regarded as a pest, especially a predatory one such as a coyote.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An obnoxious or troublesome person; a [[rascal]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vermin]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}