different between sycophancy vs fawning

English

Etymology

sycophant +? -cy

Noun

sycophancy (countable and uncountable, plural sycophancies)

1. The fawning behavior of a sycophant; servile flattery; fawningness.
   • 2010, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, page 21:

     I have always been taken aback at the high number of people in whom an astonishingly high income led to additional sycophancy as they became more dependent on their clients and employers and more addicted to making even more money.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:flattery

Translations

Anagrams

• phycocyans

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -??n??

Verb

fawning

1. present participle of fawn

Adjective

fawning

1. Seeking favor by way of flattery; flattering, servile.
   • c. 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act I scene iii^[2]:

     Shylock: How like a fawning publican he looks ! […]

Translations

Derived terms

• fawningly
• fawningness

Noun

fawning (plural fawnings)

1. Servile flattery.
   • c. 1599-1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III scene ii^[3]:

     Hamlet: No, let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp, / And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee / Where thrift may follow fawning.

   • 1818, Hannah More, The Inflexible Captive

     Xantippus found his ruin ere it reached him, / Lurking behind your honours and rewards; / Found it in your feigned courtesies and fawnings.

Translations