Where does “tomfoolish” come from?
tomfoolish (English) comes from English tomfool, from English fool, from French fouler, from Middle French fouller, from Old French foler, from Medieval Latin fullo, from Latin fullo, from Proto-Indo-European bʰleh₃-.
tomfoolish (English): silly; foolish
Definitions
- silly; foolish
Ancestry of “tomfoolish”, step by step
tomfoolish traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English tomfool
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tomfool | a silly or stupid person, especially a boy or... |
| 2 | English | fool | A person with poor judgment or little... |
| 3 | French | fouler | to stamp, impress, dent; to mill; to walk on,... |
| 4 | Middle French | fouller | to mistreat |
| 5 | Old French | foler | to destroy; to mistreat |
| 6 | Medieval Latin | fullo | fuller |
| 7 | Latin | fullo | fuller |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃- | bloom, flower |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |
via English ish
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ish | Pronunciation spelling of is; somewhat,... |
| 2 | English | -ish | Typical of, similar to, being like; Somewhat,... |
| 3 | Middle English | -ish | Alternative form of -yssh |
| 4 | Old English | -isċ | -ish |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -isk | Creates adjectives from nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -iskaz | Forms adjectives from nouns with the sense of... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -iskos | Characteristic of, typical of, pertaining to |