varmint

Meanings

1. A pestilent or predatory ground-borne animal, especially one that kills or harasses a farmer's animals or crops.
2. An obnoxious person or troublemaker.

Etymology

Dialectal form of vermin, derived from Latin vermis (“worm”), c. 1530–1540s. Perhaps influenced by Latin vargus (“bandit, outlaw, scoundrel”), though the pronunciation in /ɑː(ɹ)/ is more likely due to the same lowering of /ɛr/ > /ar/ found in carve < Middle English kerven and starve < Middle English sterven. The final syllable is probably altered after -ment; compare parchment < Middle English parchemyn.