Where does “bumfoolery” come from?
bumfoolery (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).
bumfoolery (English): Messing about, often in a homosexual way
Definitions
- Messing about, often in a homosexual way
Ancestry of “bumfoolery”, step by step
bumfoolery 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 tomfoolery
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tomfoolery | Foolish behaviour or speech; jewellery |
| 2 | English | tom | The male of the domesticated cat; The male of the... |
| 3 | Middle English | Thomme | Tom |
| 4 | Middle English | Thomas | — |
| 5 | Latin | Thōmās | Thomas the Apostle |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | Θωμᾶς | Thomas |
| 7 | Aramaic | תאומא | twin; Thomas |
| 8 | Aramaic | תאמא | twin, double; Gemini |