Nincompoop origin

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun nincompoop. Sign in with library card. Sign in as administrator on Oxford Academic. Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into nincompoop, n, nincompoop origin.

Nicodemus secretly visited Jesus one night to hear about his teachings. The Access to the complete content on Oxford Reference requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter without a subscription. Please subscribe or login to access full text content. If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code. For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs , and if you can''t find the answer there, please contact us.

Nincompoop origin

British English is full of fun and fanciful terms. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos. However, there are a number of etymologists who decidedly disagree with this explanation. Nicodemus , a derivation of Nicholas, has been cited as a possible example, as it was used in the French language to denote a fool. The Oxford English Dictionary also believes that the origins of the word can be dated back to the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and that there were a variety of versions of the word in use, including nicompoop and nickumpoop. There have been recordings of nickumpoop , nincumpoop , nink-a-poop , ninkompoop , ninkumpupe , ninny-cum-poop. Despite the uncertainty about the origins of the term, its use has always been pretty clear. Favourable synonyms of the terms include, jackass, idiot, dunce, imbecile, or moron. It is used as a soft, teasing term amongst friends and loved ones, for the most part, rather than as a cutting term meant to cause pain to someone else or make them feel uncomfortable. The British love for silly-sounding words is probably one of the most important factors in the longevity of this particular s phrase.

OED's earliest evidence for nincompoop is from around

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary. WOTD — 30 April Declaring their several Natures, Manners, and Constitutions; the occasion why this Ship was built, with the places of their intended Voyage, and a lift of the Officers that bear Command therein [book title]. O you huffing Son of a Whore. You rotten Jack in a box. You foul mouth'd Nickumpoop. Chiswell, S.

Muttonhead is not quite so old as many of the words in this list, in use only since the early 19th century. It makes up for this lack of lineage with a degree of oddity that sets it apart from the older words. It also is the word from which we get mutt , a word which has been applied, since the end of the 19th century, to horses of the run-down variety , people of insignificance , and dogs of indeterminate or mixed breed. To recap: a word for people, which was based on sheep, shortened and became a term for horses or people , and now is most commonly applied to dogs. Mankind are bored enough with scholastic mutton heads on commencement day; but to have the wretches continually grinding on their patience from the columns of a newspaper is past endurance. The English language is particularly rich in words which are capable of describing a person who makes questionable choices, and a large number of these words appear to end with - head. A very partial list includes bonehead , bufflehead , chowderhead , chucklehead , citternhead , dolthead , doughhead , dullhead , dumbhead , dunderhead , hammerhead , hardhead , jolter-head , leatherhead , loggerhead , muddlehead , noodlehead , pumpkin head , ramhead , squarehead , thickhead , and woodenhead. Of these perhaps none has such trenchant weight as the humble asshead. Scogin said to his scholler, thou foole and asse-head, doest thou not know Tom Miller of Osney?

Nincompoop origin

Nicodemus secretly visited Jesus one night to hear about his teachings. The Access to the complete content on Oxford Reference requires a subscription or purchase.

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Chiswell, S. Why, you Ninny, you Nicompoop, you Noun Adjective, for thou canst not stand by thy self, I am sure;" etc. It is used as a soft, teasing term amongst friends and loved ones, for the most part, rather than as a cutting term meant to cause pain to someone else or make them feel uncomfortable. See more words from the same year. There are no adverts on this site. Take the quiz. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single entry from a reference work in OR for personal use for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos. You foul mouth'd Nickumpoop. Modifications may include: further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates; new senses, phrases, and quotations. Share the Definition of nincompoop on Twitter Twitter. Delete Cancel Save. What does the noun nincompoop mean?

Let's dig a little deeper into the grab bag of insults that language has bequeathed us throughout history, and find out where those terms come from. Wazzock was a particularly prevalent—and particularly loutish—insult in the s.

OUP will not use this email address for any other purpose. Telephones: United States: Argentina: E-mail: info transpanish. Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once? First Known Use. Trends of nincompoop. Access to the complete content on Oxford Reference requires a subscription or purchase. There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun nincompoop. A more intriguing idea, one with a fair level of acceptance that is given with some caution in the current revision of the OED, links it with the given name Nicodemus, especially the Pharisee of that name who questioned Christ so naively in the Gospel of St John. Love words? Time Traveler. How is the noun nincompoop pronounced? Popular in Wordplay See All. Personal Profile. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nincompoop.