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Nincompoop - 5 dictionary results
nin⋅com⋅poop
[nin-kuh
m-poop, ning-] 
–noun
| a fool or simpleton. |
Origin:
1670–80; orig. uncert.
1670–80; orig. uncert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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| nin·com·poop
(nĭn'kəm-pōōp', nĭng'-) Pronunciation Key
n. A silly, foolish, or stupid person. [Origin unknown .] nin'com·poop'er·y n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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 name, and cites Nicodemus, which he says was used in Fr. for "a fool," or Nicholas.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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| nincompoop | |
noun | |
| a stupid foolish person |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Nincompoop
Nin"com*poop\, n. [A corruption of non compos.] A fool; a silly or stupid person. [Law] An old ninnyhammer, a dotard, a nincompoop, is the best language she can afford me. --Addison.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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