archrogue

Noun

archrogue (plural archrogues)

1. An infamous or particularly egregious rogue.
   • That Menaboju, he certainly is the greatest archrogue in the whole wide world.2008, Johann Georg Kohl, Kitchi-Gami: Life Among the Lake Superior Ojibway, →ISBN
   • All the bumbling and ineffectual attempts of the animals to subdue the archrogue Reinaert add up to a strong impression that the epic was composed in this 13th-century form for the enjoyment of the newly confident 'middle' class of the Flemish cities.2012, William Z. Shetter, The Pillars of Society: Six Centuries of Civilization in the Netherlands, →ISBN
2. The chief of a band of thieves or gypsies.
   • The Whelp lighed on a pirate at Milford Haven, who had newly opened shop and seized upon a Plymouth bark in Youghal harbour. He was trading for powder and muskets with some knaves on shore; but his market was marred, and four of the principals delivered up to justice. The archrogue's name is Gosman.1863, Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the Reign of Charles I.
   • During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries master thieves entrusted with the education of novices were well known in England, France, and Italy, and were archrogues in the various associations of beggars and vagabonds.1975, James A. Inciardi, Careers in Crime, page 61