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Knave vs Shrewd - What's the difference?

knave | shrewd |

As a noun knave

is (archaic) a boy; especially, a boy servant.

As an adjective shrewd is

showing clever resourcefulness in practical matters.

knave

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • (archaic) A boy; especially, a boy servant.
  • (archaic) Any male servant; a menial.
  • A tricky, deceitful fellow; a dishonest person; a rogue; a villain.
  • *
  • *:I had never defrauded a man of a farthing, nor called him knave behind his back. But now the last rag that covered my nakedness had been torn from me. I was branded a blackleg, card-sharper, and murderer.
  • *1977 , (Geoffrey Chaucer), (The Canterbury Tales) , Penguin Classics, p. 204:
  • *:God's bones! Whenever I go to beat those knaves / my tapsters, out she [my wife] comes with clubs and staves, / "Go on!" she screams — and its a caterwaul — / "You kill those dogs! Break back and bones and all!"
  • (cards) A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or soldier; a jack.

    • Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * knavery * knavish

    shrewd

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • showing clever resourcefulness in practical matters
  • artful, tricky or cunning
  • streetwise
  • *
  • knowledgeable
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=November 10 , author=Jeremy Wilson , title=tEngland Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report , work=Telegraph citation , page= , passage=The most persistent tormentor was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who scored a hat-trick in last month’s corresponding fixture in Iceland. His ability to run at defences is instantly striking, but it is his clever use of possession that has persuaded some shrewd judges that he is an even better prospect than Theo Walcott. }}
  • (archaic) Scolding, satirical, sharp.
  • * 1599 ,
    • LEONATO. By my troth, niece, thou wilt never get thee a husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue.

    Derived terms

    * shrewdly * shrewdness