Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “goofy” come from?

Goofy comes from English goff, from English goffe, ultimately derived through Latin -ia, -ivus, and Proto-Indo-European -kos, though the precise semantic development remains unclear.

goofy (English): silly, quirky; Riding with the right foot...

Definitions

  1. silly, quirky; Riding with the right foot...

Ancestry of “goofy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-yAdded to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives...
2Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
3Old English-iġ-y, -ic
4Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
5Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
6Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “goofy”

  • Goofy
  • goofiness
  • goofily
  • グーフィー
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →