different between scoundrel vs ganef

English

Etymology

Possibly related to northern English or Scottish scunner: "to shrink back in fear or loathing" (Encyclopædia Britannica 1911).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ska??nd??l/

Noun

scoundrel (plural scoundrels)

1. A mean, worthless fellow; a rascal; a villain; a person without honour or virtue.

Synonyms

• see also Thesaurus:villain

Derived terms

• scoundrelish, scoundrelly, scoundrelous, scoundrelously

Translations

See also

• Scoundrel in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

English

Alternative forms

• ganif, ganof, gonef, gonif, goniff, gannef, gonof, gonoff, gonoph, gonnof

Etymology

From Yiddish ????? (ganef), from Hebrew ???? (ganáv, “thief”).

Noun

ganef (plural ganefs or ganevim)

1. (slang, derogatory) A thief; a rascal or scoundrel.
   • 1999, Steve Stern, The Wedding Jester, Graywolf Press, page 86,

     The streets swarmed with hucksters, ganefs, and handkerchief girls who solicited in the shadows of buildings draped in black bunting.

   • 2011, Eric Dezenhall, The Devil Himself, St. Martin's Press (Thomas Dunne Books), page 12,

     I would love to have a little inside knowledge that my grandfather's friends took down a president, but the reality is an endless procession of desperate little ganefs—and most of them are very small—trying to stay one step ahead of cops in suits from Sy Syms.

References

• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967

Anagrams

• Fagen, Fegan