goof

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See also: Goof

English

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Etymology

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Perhaps from dialectal English goff (foolish clown), from earlier goffe, in which case further etymology is uncertain.

Perhaps from Middle English goffen (to speak in a frivolous manner), possibly from Old English gaf, ġegaf (base; wanton; lewd, adj), ġegaf (buffoonery; scurrility, noun), gaffetung, golfettung (buffoonery; mockery). Compare English dialectal gauffin (lightheaded; foolish; giddy), Scots gaff, gawf (to talk loudly; babble), Scots gaffaw (a loud laugh).

Alternatively, perhaps from Middle French goffe (awkward; stupid). Compare also Spanish gofo, Italian goffo.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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goof (plural goofs)

  1. (US, informal) A mistake or error.
    I made a goof in that last calculation.
    Synonyms: blooper, boo-boo, error, faux pas, fluff, gaffe, lapse, mistake, slip, stumble, thinko; see also Thesaurus:error
    1. (US, cinematography, informal) An error made during production which finds its way into the final release.
  2. (US, Canada, MTE, informal) A foolish and/or silly person; a goofball.
    Your little brother is a total goof.
  3. (Canada, prison slang) A rapist.

Translations

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Verb

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goof (third-person singular simple present goofs, present participle goofing, simple past and past participle goofed)

  1. (US) To make a mistake.
    It's my fault. I goofed.
    • 1986 August 9, “Attention Art World”, in Gay Community News, page 13:
      GCN is in a sticky situation because we goofed and bought 10 pounds of a type of wax that we cannot use.
  2. (US) To engage in mischief.
    Synonym: goof around
    We were just goofing by painting the neighbor's cat green.

Synonyms

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Anagrams

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