Snool

Snool [snool]

(n.)

-A servile toady who submits tamely.

-A willing kow-tower, a 'yes man’.

-A milquetoast, a drudge.

-An obsequious or sly person.

-A cringing person; a coward.

-A mean, wretched person; a bully.

(v.)

-To reduce to submission.

-To cringe or cower.

-To bully or lambaste harshly.

Of Scottish origin - 18th century.

Used in a sentence:

“I always knew he was a snool, but did he really have to curtsy like some obsequious little milquetoast?”

The definitions seem contradictory, in that one describes a cruel bully, and the other describes the one being bullied. The key point to remember in these situations is that definitions of words evolve over time. The longer a word is used, the more likely it is to happen and the more extreme the changes. Like the word “literally” as a fine contemporary example.