Where does “foolhardy” come from?
Foolhardy comes from Middle English folherdi, from Old French fol hardi meaning bold fool, with fol from Latin follis meaning bellows or windbag.
foolhardy (English): Marked by unthinking recklessness with disregard...
Definitions
- Marked by unthinking recklessness with disregard...
Ancestry of “foolhardy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | folehardy | Marked by unthinking recklessness with disregard... |
| 2 | Old French | fol hardi | foolishly bold |
| 3 | Old French | hardi | hardy; tough; durable |
| 4 | Old French | hardir | to harden |
| 5 | Frankish | hardijan | to harden, to make hard |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | hardijaną | to make hard, strong; to harden |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | harduz | hard; brave |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kert- | times; to weave, twist together; time |
| 9 | Proto-Turkic | *keŕ- | to travel, tour |