Got me!
All from a mis-remembered spelling... dammit. Here's the real word:
sycophant \SIK-uh-fuhnt\, noun: A person who seeks favor by flattering people of wealth or influence; a parasite; a toady. [emphasis mine]
[Latin sycophanta, informer, slanderer, from Greek sukophants, informer, from sukon phainein, to show a fig (probably originally said of denouncers of theft or exportation of figs) : sukon, fig + phainein, to show]
Source: Dictionary.com
See also obsequious.