A tricky, deceitful fellow; a dishonest person; a rogue; a villain.
(RQ:Frgsn Zlnstn)
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, (w) (in Modern English translation), (w), 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 it's a caterwaul — / "You kill those dogs! Break back and bones and all!"
puhekieltä A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or soldier; a jack.