bobo

See also: Bobo, bóbo, bobô, bo bo, bỏ bố, and bô bô

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboʊboʊ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Etymology 1

Blend of bourgeois +‎ bohemian, popularized by David Brooks to describe the 1990s equivalent of the yuppie.

Noun

bobo (plural bobos)

1. A materialistic person who affects an anti-materialistic persona.
   • 2000, David Brooks, Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 207:

     The small things—an olive grove or a small chapel—take on greater meaning to a Bobo on vacation.

   • 2011 April 12, Lobrano, Alex, “Bobo Heaven in Paris”, in T Magazine‎^[1]:

     Peruse the Paris papers these days and you'll notice an obsession with bobos: no, they're not a team of cheerleaders or a troupe of clowns, but rich, artsy types known as bourgeois bohemians, who are now pretty much the tip of Parisian tastemakers. So when friends who were recently staying in Saint Germain des Pres asked me where to go to people watch, I told them to head for the Ninth Arrondissement citadel of bobo cool.

2. A self-styled bodyguard or groupie of the nouveau riche (such as a professional athlete or musician)
3. An imitation of something, particularly a well known product, usually lower in quality than the original.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French bobo (“boo-boo”).

Noun

bobo (plural bobos)

1. (Louisiana, Montreal) A boo-boo (minor injury)

See also

• Bobo doll

Anagrams

• boob, obbo

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Aklanon

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *bubu.

Noun

bobo

1. fish trap

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Albanian

Alternative forms

• obobo

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bɔ.bɔ/

Interjection

bobo

1. alas (exclamation of sorrow, etc.)

See also

• kúkú
• mos

 

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Bikol Central

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish bobo, from Latin balbus (“stammering”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: bo‧bo
• IPA^(key): /ˈbobo/

Adjective

bobo (feminine boba)

1. stupid; foolish

   Synonyms: patal, palpal, pangol, torpe

Noun

bobo (feminine boba)

1. fool; idiot; simpleton; dunce

   Synonyms: tonto, tonta, kabakab

2. (uncommon) clown

   Synonyms: payaso, komiko

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboː.boː/
• Hyphenation: bo‧bo

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Sranan Tongo bobo, from Portuguese bobo or alternatively Spanish bobo.

Noun

bobo m (plural bobo's)

1. (Suriname) sucker, fool

   Synonyms: domkop, sufferd, sukkel

Etymology 2

Shortening of bondsbons. Said to be coined by Joop Niezen in 1978. Popularised in 1988 by Ruud Gullit, whose usage was likely influenced by etymology 1.

Noun

bobo m (plural bobo's)

1. (Netherlands) football bigwig [from late 1970s or early 1980s]
   • 1983 November 10, M.H., "Bobo's", Nieuwsblad van het Noorden , vol. 96, no. 265, page 19.

     Drukke dagen voor bobo's in het Noorden.

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

2. (Netherlands, by extension) any bigwig [from late 1980s]

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bo.bo/

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic.

Noun

bobo m (plural bobos)

1. (childish) boo-boo (pain or injury)

Etymology 2

Blend of bourgeois +‎ bohème.

Noun

bobo m or f (plural bobos)

1. bobo, boho
   • 2016, Mathilde Ramadier; Alberto Madrigal, Berlin 2.0, Futuropolis, →ISBN, page 47:

     Et d'un point de vue sociologique, mieux vaut commander un simple café au lait pour préserver les berlinois des bobos et des hipsters.

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

Further reading

• “bobo”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Haitian Creole

Etymology

Compare Louisiana Creole French bo.

Verb

bobo

1. (Saint-Domingue) to kiss

   Mo bobo ly là su bouche. ― I kiss her there on the mouth.

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: bo

References

• S.J Ducoeurjoly, Manuel des habitans de Saint-Domingue, contenant un précis de l'histoire de cette île

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Hiligaynon

Verb

bóbó or bôbô

1. to pour out or over

Noun

bóbo

1. baptism without ceremony

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Japanese

Romanization

bobo

1. Rōmaji transcription of ぼぼ

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Mansaka

Etymology

From bubu, from Proto-Austronesian *bubu.

Noun

bobo

1. fish trap

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Polabian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *bàba.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɔˈbɔ/
• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔbɐ/

Noun

bobo f

1. grandmother
2. old woman

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

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Polish

Etymology

From nursery language.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔ.bɔ/
• Rhymes: -ɔbɔ
• Syllabification: bo‧bo

Noun

bobo n (indeclinable)

1. (endearing) baby, child

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dziecko

   małe bobo ― a small baby

   ryczące bobo ― a howling baby

   słodkie bobo ― a sweet baby

   zdrowe bobo ― a healthy baby

   bobo w wózku ― a baby in a carriage

Derived terms

noun

• bobas
• bobasek

 

Further reading

• bobo in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• bobo in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish bobo, from Latin balbus.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: bo‧bo

• IPA^(key): (Brazil) /ˈbo.bu/, [ˈbo.bu]

• IPA^(key): (Portugal) /ˈbo.bu/, [ˈbo.βu]

Adjective

bobo m (feminine singular boba, masculine plural bobos, feminine plural bobas, comparable)

1. (Brazil) silly, stupid
2. (Brazil) naive

Synonyms

• (stupid): See here

Noun

bobo m (plural bobos)

1. (historical) jester (person who amused a medieval court)

   Synonym: bobo da corte

2. (chiefly Brazil) a stupid or naive person; a fool.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:fool/translations

Derived terms

• bobagem (“nonsense”)
• bobo da corte

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin balbus (“stuttering”), influenced by sound symbolism.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbobo/, [ˈbo.β̞o]

• Audio (Colombia)

  (file)

Adjective

bobo (feminine boba, masculine plural bobos, feminine plural bobas)

1. stupid, silly, naive

   Synonym: tonto

Derived terms

• abobar
• bobada
• bobear
• bobería
• caja boba
• calabobos
• cazabobos
• comerse la sopa boba
• embobar
• engañabobos

 

Noun

bobo m (plural bobos)

1. a stupid or naive person; a fool

   ¡No seas bobo! ― Don't be an idiot!

Further reading

• “bobo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

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Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From Portuguese bobo.

Noun

bobo

1. dolt, dweeb, wimp

Adjective

bobo

1. doltish, sluggish

Verb

bobo

1. to behave like a dolt

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Tagalog

Alternative forms

• bubo

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish bobo, from Latin balbus (“stammering”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: bo‧bo
• IPA^(key): /ˈbobo/

Noun

bobo (feminine boba)

1. fool; idiot; simpleton; dunce
2. (uncommon) clown; jester

   Synonyms: payaso, arlikin

Adjective

bobo (feminine boba)

1. stupid; foolish; silly

   Synonym: tanga

   • 2021, Nitz Miralles, “Lauren ‘pinatulan’ si DJ Loonyo”, in Pang-Masa:

     Aliw na aliw kami sa pagpatol ni Lauren Young sa fans ni DJ Loonyo na binash siya dahil sa comment sa pagsusuot ng face mask. Na-bash si Lauren sa tweet niyang “Omg i just saw this!! Ang bobo shet ang bobo. Flatearther ka rin ba koyah??”

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

Derived terms

• bobotante
• konsuwelo de-bobo
• mabobo
• magpakabobo
• nakakabobo

 

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Ternate

bobo

Etymology

Compare Tobelo boboro (“nipa”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbo.bo/

Noun

bobo (Jawi بوبو‎)

1. the nipa palm

References

• Frederik Sigismund Alexander de Clercq (1890) Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate, E.J. Brill
• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh