Where does “bumfodder” come from?
bumfodder (English) comes from English bum, from German Bummler, from German -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-West Germanic -ārī, from Proto-Germanic -ārijaz, from Latin -ārius, from Proto-Italic *-āzios — Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals).
bumfodder (English): toilet paper; bureaucratic or officious documents
Definitions
- toilet paper; bureaucratic or officious documents
Ancestry of “bumfodder”, step by step
bumfodder traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English bum
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | bum | The buttocks; The anus; To sodomize; to engage in... |
| 2 | German | Bummler | stroller; laggard; idler, loafer |
| 3 | German | -er | Forms agent nouns etc. from verbs, suffixed to... |
| 4 | Old High German | -āri | used to form agent nouns |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -ārī | -er |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ārijaz | -er |
| 7 | Latin | -ārius | er |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *-āzios | Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals) |
via English fodder
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fodder | Food for animals; that which is fed to cattle,... |
| 2 | Middle English | fodder | fodder |
| 3 | Old English | fōdor | feed; fodder; sheaf |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | fōdr | fodder; sheath |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | fōdrą | fodder; sheath |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | fōdô | food, nourishment |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pat- | to feed; path; to go |