shyster

Meanings

Noun

• Someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law and politics.

Verb

• To act in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law and politics.
• To exploit (someone or something) in this way.

Origin

• The etymology of the word is not generally agreed upon. The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as "of obscure origin," possibly deriving from a historical sense of "shy" meaning disreputable. Other sources suggest the word derives from the German Scheißer ("incompetent worthless person"), from scheißen, probably influenced by .