This week’s theme
Words that sound dirty, but aren’t

This week’s words
crotchet
bumbaze
cumbrous
pismire
dowfart


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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(DAU-fuhrt)

MEANING:

noun:	1. A dimwit.
	2. A coward.
adj.:	1. Dim or dull.
	2. Cowardly.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Scots dowf (dull, dim) + -art, a variant of the usually pejorative suffix -ard. Earliest documented use: 1719. Also spelled duffart.

NOTES:

The apparent fart is a false alarm. The word divides as dowf + -art, not dow + fart. Dowf is a Scots word meaning dull or stupid. The ending -art is a variant of -ard, found as -ard in drunkard and dullard, and as -art in braggart. It ultimately goes back to a Germanic element meaning hardy or bold.

The word duffer may be an alteration of dowfart, after the word quietly let out a few letters.

USAGE:

“‘The priest thinks I am a duffart,’ she said. ‘A dullard.’”
Jean Thesman; Singer; Penguin; 2005.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: