lackey
/ˈlæ.ki/noun, verb
lackey is spelled L-A-C-K-E-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lackey means “A footman, a liveried male servant” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lackey is lackeys.
How many letters and syllables are in lackey?
| Letters | 6: L-A-C-K-E-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,063rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is lackey?
Lackey appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lackey?
- /ˈlæ.ki/
Lackey has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lackey.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lackey
- lackeys plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lacquey
- lacky
- lackeying participle, present
- lackeyed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lackey mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A footman, a liveried male servant.
- 2
A fawning, servile follower.
verb
- 1
To attend, wait upon, serve obsequiously.
- 2
obsoleteTo toady, play the flunky.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lackey in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense liveried male servant:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lackey come from?
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 Arabic الْقَائِد (al-qāʔid). See French laquais.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).