Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Nearby Entries
Booby - 7 dictionary results

boo⋅by

1[boo-bee]
–noun, plural -bies.
1. a stupid person; dunce.
2. a gannet of the genus Sula, having a bright bill, bright feet, or both: some are endangered.

Origin:
1590–1600; earlier pooby, appar. b. poop to befool (now obs.) and baby; (def. 2) perh. by association with Sp bobo < L balbus stuttering


boo⋅by⋅ish, adjective

boob⋅y

2[boo-bee]
–noun, plural boob⋅ies. Slang: Sometimes Vulgar.
a female breast.

Origin:
1930–35, Americanism; prob. var. of earlier bubby
boo·by 1   (bōō'bē)   
n.   pl. boo·bies
  1. A person regarded as stupid.
  2. Any of several tropical sea birds of the genus Sula, resembling and related to the gannets.

[Probably Spanish bobo, from Latin balbus, stammering.]
boo·by 2   (bōō'bē)   
n.   pl. boo·bies Vulgar Slang
A woman's breast.

[Perhaps alteration of obsolete English bubby.]

Booby

Boo"by\ (b[=oo]"b[y^]), n.; pl. Boobies (-b[i^]z). [Sp. bobo dunce, idiot; cf. L. balbus stammering, E. barbarous.]

1. A dunce; a stupid fellow.

2. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A swimming bird (Sula fiber or S. sula) related to the common gannet, and found in the West Indies, nesting on the bare rocks. It is so called on account of its apparent stupidity. The name is also sometimes applied to other species of gannets; as, S. piscator, the red-footed booby. (b) A species of penguin of the antarctic seas.

Booby hatch (Naut.), a kind of wooden hood over a hatch, readily removable.

Booby hut, a carriage body put upon sleigh runners. [Local, U. S.] --Bartlett.

Booby hutch, a clumsy covered carriage or seat, used in the eastern part of England. --Forby.

Booby trap, a schoolboy's practical joke, as a shower bath when a door is opened.

Booby

Boo"by\ (b[=oo]"b[y^]), a. Having the characteristics of a booby; stupid.
Language Translation for : Booby
Spanish: bobo,
German: der Tölpel,
Japanese: まぬけ

booby 
1599, from Sp. bobo "stupid person, slow bird," probably from L. balbus "stammering" (like barbarian, from an imitative root, cf. Czech blblati "to stammer," Skt. balbala-karoti "he stammers"). Booby prize is 1889, an object of little value given to the loser of a game; booby-trap is 1850, originally a schoolboy prank; the more lethal sense developed during World War I.
Search another word or see Booby on Thesaurus | Reference