A person of dishonorable social status who performs (necessary) taboo jobs; such as assistant to an executioner; a knacker; a nightman. · a blighter (one who behaves in an objectionable or pitiable manner) · a rascal (in a more-or-less endearing sense)
First attested in 1943. Of uncertain origin. Perhaps a doublet of the argot word pacek (“face, cheek”) [1924], which is from pacef (“face, cheek”) [1888] with the same ending as in balek. The noun pacef is from Yiddish פרצוף (partsef, “face”), from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον (prósōpon). The -ák ending in pacák may have developed following the examples of melák, pupák.