Sycophant

The word Sycophant has its origin in the legal system of Classical Athens. Having no police force and a limited number of officially appointed public prosecutors, most legal cases were brought by private litigants. By the 5th Century, BCE, however, this practice had given rise to abuse by litigants who brought unjustified prosecutions. Such a litigant was called a “sycophant”. The word retains this meaning in Modern Greek and in French, of an informer, but in modern English, the meaning of the word has shifted to mean an insincere flatterer.