Curmudgeon

WOTD - 7 May 2007    

English

Etymology

While numerous folk etymologies surround this word, there is no widely accepted etymology. An alternative spelling attested in 1600 is cornmudgin, in Holland's translation of Livy, rendering frumentarius "corn-merchant". This has been suggested as the original form of the word, but OED notes that curmudgeon is attested some years before this, concluding that cornmudgin was merely a nonce-word by Holland.

The word is attested from the late 16th century, in the forms curmudgeon, curmudgen, during the 17th century also in numerous spelling variants, including cormogeon, cormogion, cormoggian, cormudgeon, curmudgion, curmuggion, curmudgin, curr-mudgin, curre-megient.

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /kɜː(ɹ)ˈmʌdʒ.ən/, SAMPA: /k3:(r)"mVdZ.@n/
• (US) IPA: /kɚˈmʌdʒən/, SAMPA: /k@`"mVdZ@n/

  Audio (US)

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  (file)

Noun

Curmudgeon (plural Curmudgeons)

1. (archaic) A miser.
2. An ill-tempered (and frequently old) person full of stubborn ideas or opinions.

   There's a cranky curmudgeon working at the hospital who gives all the patients and other doctors flak.

   John Doe's old age and stubborn aversion to new ideas make him a curmudgeon of a candidate.

Quotations

• 2006, The New York Times [1]

  How to Be a Curmudgeon on the Internet

• 2007, The Times [2]

  How should I respond, without appearing to be a curmudgeon?

Translations

an ill-tempered stubborn person

Bulgarian: темерут (bg) m. Dutch: iezegrim (nl) m. Finnish: äkämys (fi) French: bourru (fr) m. German: Miesepeter (de) m., Spielverderber (de) m.

Macedonian: намќор (mk) (námḱor) m. Portuguese: rabugento (pt) m., casmurro (pt) m. Serbo-Croatian: namćor (sh) Spanish: cabeza de cabayo (es)