blackguard

/ˈblæɡəd/

//ˈblæɡəd// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"blackguard" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“blackguard” is uncommon English (frequency #91,296 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#91,296
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The lowest servant in a household charged with pots, pans, and other kitchen equipment.

Corpus desk

Index EN-blackguard · blackguard · English

blackguard · rank #91,296 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #91,296
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bilious

Nearest frequency peer: bilious (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “blackguard”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “blackguard” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for blackguard
PropertyValue
Headwordblackguard
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈblæɡəd/
Letters10
Frequency rank#91,296
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “blackguard” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).blackguardfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “bilious” (#91,294), “biggin” (#91,293), “blunting” (#91,301). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “blackguard” is #91,296. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

blackguard is uncommon English at frequency #91,296 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈblæɡəd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for blackguard in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From black + guard, thought to have referred originally to the scullions and lower menials of a court, or of a nobleman's household, who wore black liveries or blacked shoes and boots, or were often stained with soot. The correct English form is blackguard, spelled B-L-A-C-K-G-U-A-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    The lowest servant in a household charged with pots, pans, and other kitchen equipment.
  2. 2
    An unprincipled, contemptible person; an untrustworthy person.
  3. 3
    A man who uses foul language in front of a woman (typically a woman of high standing).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how blackguard appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 1830, Thomas Macaulay, Review of Robert Southey's edition of Pilgrim's Progress, in the Edinburgh Review A man whose manners and sentiments are decidedly below those of his class deserves to be called a blackguard.
  2. Pawn another man's property for the sake of a meal, eat and drink one's self to perdition, brand one's soul with the first little sear, set the first black mark against one's honour, call one's self a blackguard to one's own face, and needs must cast one's eyes down before one's self? Never! never!

Etymology

From black + guard, thought to have referred originally to the scullions and lower menials of a court, or of a nobleman's household, who wore black liveries or blacked shoes and boots, or were often stained with soot.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "blackguard"?
"blackguard" is spelled B-L-A-C-K-G-U-A-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈblæɡəd/.
What does "blackguard" mean?
As a noun, "blackguard" means: The lowest servant in a household charged with pots, pans, and other kitchen equipment.
How do you pronounce "blackguard"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blackguard" is /ˈblæɡəd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "blackguard"?
From black + guard, thought to have referred originally to the scullions and lower menials of a court, or of a nobleman's household, who wore black liveries or blacked shoes and boots, or were often stained with soot. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "blackguard", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Belisarius#91,285bookbinder#91,309Batesville#91,273Camperdown#91,333

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list