Nearby Words

Nincompoop

[nin-kuhm-poop, ning-] Origin

nin·com·poop

[nin-kuhm-poop, ning-]
noun
a fool or simpleton.

Origin:
1670–80; origin uncertain

nin·com·poop·er·y, noun
nin·com·poop·ish, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Nincompoop

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Nincompoop is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Collins
World English Dictionary
nincompoop (ˈnɪnkəmˌpuːp, ˈnɪŋ-)
 
n
a stupid person; fool; idiot
 
[C17: of unknown origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

nincompoop
1676, nicompoop. Despite similarity [noted by Johnson] to L. legal phrase non compos mentis "insane, mentally incompetent" (1607), the connection is denied by etymologists because the earliest forms lack the second -n-. Weekley thinks first element may be a proper
EXPAND
name, and cites Nicodemus, which he says was used in Fr. for "a fool," or Nicholas.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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