scallywag
/ˈskælɪwæɡ/noun
scallywag is spelled S-C-A-L-L-Y-W-A-G: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a derogatory noun, scallywag means “A disreputable fellow, a good-for-nothing, a scapegrace, a blackguard” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of scallywag is scallywags.
How many letters and syllables are in scallywag?
| Letters | 9: S-C-A-L-L-Y-W-A-G |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 18 million words; the 128,787th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is scallywag?
Scallywag appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th 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 scallywag?
- /ˈskælɪwæɡ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-scallywag.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of scallywag
- scallywags plural
- scalawag
- scalliwag
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scallywag mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
UKdatedderogatoryA disreputable fellow, a good-for-nothing, a scapegrace, a blackguard
- 2
UKinformalA badly behaved person, especially a child; a mischief-maker; a rascal
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does scallywag come from?
Unknown.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).