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What Does the Word Lickspittle Mean in House of the Dragon?
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House of the Dragon just premiered on HBO and HBO Max, and as expected, it includes words that most people have never even heard of, one such word being lickspittle. Well, if you’re curious about the meaning of the word, we have got you covered as here is what the word lickspittle means in House of the Dragon.
Warning: Major spoilers for the series premiere of House of the Dragon.
What is a Lickspittle?
A lickspittle refers to someone who is subservient to those with power over them. In order words, as the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines lickspittle, it means “a fawning subordinate.” Some synonyms for lickspittle include words such as bootlicker, fawner, flunky, suck-up, and sycophant.
King Viserys uses the word during his impassioned speech because of the offensive nature of what Prince Daemon said at the brothel, referring to the King’s dead baby son as the “Heir for a Day.” King Viserys’ exact words in response to the cold-hearted comment is the following:
My family has just been destroyed. But instead of being by my side, or Rhaenyra’s, you chose to celebrate your own rise! Laughing with your whores and your lickspittles!
In this quote, the meaning behind the King calling the people at the brothel lickspittles is seemingly that those people are just individuals who are sucking up to the presumptive heir. They all don’t necessarily believe in what Prince Daemon is spouting, as is apparent by the fact that the words got leaked out. The people that the prince was surrounding himself with were only fawning and agreeing with him because they are his subordinates.
That is everything you need to know about what a lickspittle is in House of the Dragon. Want to stay in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire a little longer? Twinfinite has plenty more coverage of both House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, some of which can be viewed by clicking on the links below.
Featured Image Source: HBO Max
