fool
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English fole (“fool”), from Old French fol (cf. modern French fou (“mad”)) from Latin follis.[1]. Doublet of follis.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
fool (plural fools)
- (derogatory) A person with poor judgment or little intelligence.
- You were a fool to cross that busy road without looking.
- The village fool threw his own shoes down the well.
- 2008, Adele, Crazy for You
- And every time I'm meant to be acting sensible
You drift into my head
And turn me into a crumbling fool.
- And every time I'm meant to be acting sensible
- 1895, Rudyard Kipling, If—
- If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools
- If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
- 1841, Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge Chapter 13
- ‘If I coloured at all, Mr Edward,’ said Joe, ‘which I didn’t know I did, it was to think I should have been such a fool as ever to have any hope of her. She’s as far out of my reach as—as Heaven is.’
- 1743, Benjamin Franklin
- Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.
- (historical) A jester; a person whose role was to entertain a sovereign and the court (or lower personages).
- 1896, Frederick Peterson IN Popular Science Monthly Volume 50 December 1896 , Idiots Savants
- This court fool could say bright things on occasion, but his main use to the ladies and lords of the palace was to serve as victim to practical jokes, cruel, coarse, and vulgar enough to be appreciated perhaps in the Bowery.
- 1896, Frederick Peterson IN Popular Science Monthly Volume 50 December 1896 , Idiots Savants
- (informal) Someone who derives pleasure from something specified.
- 1671, John Milton, Samson Agonistes
- Can they think me […] their fool or jester?
- 1975, Foghat, "Fool for the City" (song), Fool for the City (album):
- I'm a fool for the city.
- 1671, John Milton, Samson Agonistes
- (slang) Buddy, dude, person.
- (cooking) A type of dessert made of puréed fruit and custard or cream.
- an apricot fool; a gooseberry fool
- (often capitalized, Fool) A particular card in a tarot deck, representing a jester.
Synonyms[edit]
- (person with poor judgment): See also Thesaurus:fool
- (person who entertained a sovereign): jester, joker
- (person who talks a lot of nonsense): gobshite
Translations[edit]
person with poor judgement or little intelligence
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jester
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dessert
tarot card
Verb[edit]
fool (third-person singular simple present fools, present participle fooling, simple past and past participle fooled)
- To trick; to deceive
- 1918, Florence White Williams, The Little Red Hen
- She bit it gently and found that it resembled a worm in no way whatsoever as to taste although because it was long and slender, a Little Red Hen might easily be fooled by its appearance.
- 1918, Florence White Williams, The Little Red Hen
- To act in an idiotic manner; to act foolishly
- 1681/1682, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar
- Is this a time for fooling?
- 1972, Judy Blume, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (page 56)
- She's always complaining that she got stuck with the worst possible committee. And that me and Jimmy fool more than we work.
- 1681/1682, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar
Synonyms[edit]
- See also Thesaurus:deceive
Translations[edit]
to trick; to make a fool of someone
to play the fool, to act silly
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Derived terms[edit]
Terms derived from the noun or verb fool
Adjective[edit]
fool (comparative fooler or more fool, superlative foolest or most fool)
- (informal) foolish
- 2011, Gayle Kaye, Sheriff Takes a Bride
- That was a fool thing to do. You could have gotten yourself shot
- 1909, Gene Stratton-Porter, A Girl of the Limberlost
- Of all the fool, fruitless jobs, making anything of a creature that begins by deceiving her, is the foolest a sane woman ever undertook.
- 2011, Gayle Kaye, Sheriff Takes a Bride
References[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Middle English[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Old French fol (French fou (“mad”)) from Latin follis.[1]
Noun[edit]
fool
- Alternative form of fole (“fool”)
Adjective[edit]
fool
- Alternative form of fole (“foolish”)
Etymology 2[edit]
From Old English fola.
Noun[edit]
fool
- Alternative form of fole (“foal”)
Rohingya[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Noun[edit]
fool
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English doublets
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English derogatory terms
- English terms with historical senses
- English informal terms
- English slang
- en:Cooking
- English verbs
- English adjectives
- English basic words
- en:People
- Middle English terms borrowed from Old French
- Middle English terms derived from Old French
- Middle English terms derived from Latin
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Middle English adjectives
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Rohingya terms derived from Sanskrit
- Rohingya lemmas
- Rohingya nouns