# rascal

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɹɑːskl̩/ · frequency rank #26,571

## Definitions
1. A dishonest person; a rogue, a scoundrel, a trickster.
2. A cheeky person or creature; a troublemaker.
3. A member of a criminal gang.

## Etymology
Recorded since c.1330, as Middle English rascaile (“people of the lowest class, rabble of an army”), derived from 12th century Old French rascaille (“outcast, rabble”) (modern French racaille), perhaps from rasque (“mud, filth, scab, dregs”), from Vulgar Latin *rasicō (“to scrape”). The singular form is first attested in 1461; the present extended sense of "low, dishonest person" is from early 1586.

## Easily confused with
- **Rashad** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rascal-vs-rashad)
- **rasa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rasa-vs-rascal)
- **racial** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/racial-vs-rascal)
- **radial** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/radial-vs-rascal)
- **Randal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/randal-vs-rascal)
- **radical** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/radical-vs-rascal)

## Common misspellings (9)
`arscal`, `racsal`, `rasacl`, `rascall`, `rasccal`, `rascla`, `rasscal`, `rrascal`, `rsacal`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/rascal