rascal [ME] Borrowed from French rascaile, the early history of rascal is murky, but it seems to go back to a verb meaning ‘to scrape, scratch’, a not unusual image for those regarded as the scrapings of society. It has had the sense of a rogue from the beginning, but could once mean a variety of other things such as the lowest social class in general, a mob, a common soldier or camp follower, or even a scrawny deer. The sense of a mischievous or cheeky person is found from the beginning of the 17th century.