ARRANT
Proper noun
Arrant (plural Arrants)
A surname.
Statistics
• According to the 2010 United States Census, Arrant is the 23662nd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1071 individuals. Arrant is most common among White (80.86%) individuals.
Etymology
Adjective
arrant (comparative arranter, superlative arrantest)
Utter; complete (with a negative sense).
Obsolete form of errant.
Usage notes
Particularly used in the phrase “arrant knaves”, quoting Hamlet, and “arrant nonsense”.
Some dictionaries consider arrant simply an alternative form of errant, but in usage they have long since split.
The word has long been considered archaic, may be confused with errant, and is used primarily in clichés, on which basis some recommend against using it.
Source: Wiktionary
Ar"rant, a. Etym: [OE. erraunt, errant, errand, equiv. to E. errant wandering, which was first applied to vagabonds, as an errant rogue, an errant thief, and hence passed gradually into its present and worse sense. See Errant.]
Definition: Notoriously or preëminently bad; thorough or downright, in a bad sense; shameless; unmitigated; as, an arrant rogue or coward. I discover an arrant laziness in my soul. Fuller.
2. Thorough or downright, in a good sense. [Obs.] An arrant honest woman. Burton.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
23 February 2025
BARGAIN
(noun) an advantageous purchase; “she got a bargain at the auction”; “the stock was a real buy at that price”
Do you know this game?
Wordscapes is a popular word game consistently in the top charts of both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The Android version has more than 10 million installs. This guide will help you get more coins in less than two minutes of playing the game. Continue reading Wordscapes: Get More Coins