booby n.

"stupid person," 1590s, from Spanish bobo "stupid person," also used of various ungainly seabirds, probably from Latin balbus "stammering," from an imitative root (see barbarian).

The specific sense "dunce in a school class" is by 1825. Hence also booby prize "object of little value given to the loser of a game," attested by 1884:

At the end of every session the dominie had the satirical custom of presenting his tawse [a corporal punishment implement used for educational discipline] as a "booby-prize" to some idle or stupid lout whom he picked out as meriting this distinction so that next time they met he might start fresh and fair with new pair for a new set of classes. [Ascott R. Hope, "Dumps," Young England magazine, September 1884]

Booby trap is by 1850, originally a schoolboy prank; the more lethal sense developed during World War I. Booby-hatch "wooden framework used to cover the after-hatch on merchant vessels" is from 1840; as "insane asylum" by 1936.

词汇	booby
词源	booby n. "stupid person," 1590s, from Spanish bobo "stupid person," also used of various ungainly seabirds, probably from Latin balbus "stammering," from an imitative root (see barbarian). The specific sense "dunce in a school class" is by 1825. Hence also booby prize "object of little value given to the loser of a game," attested by 1884: At the end of every session the dominie had the satirical custom of presenting his tawse [a corporal punishment implement used for educational discipline] as a "booby-prize" to some idle or stupid lout whom he picked out as meriting this distinction so that next time they met he might start fresh and fair with new pair for a new set of classes. [Ascott R. Hope, "Dumps," Young England magazine, September 1884] Booby trap is by 1850, originally a schoolboy prank; the more lethal sense developed during World War I. Booby-hatch "wooden framework used to cover the after-hatch on merchant vessels" is from 1840; as "insane asylum" by 1936. Entries linking to booby barbarian adj. mid-14c., "foreign, of another nation or culture," from Medieval Latin barbarinus (see barbarian (n.)). The meaning "of or pertaining to savages, rude, uncivilized" is from 1590s. boob n. "stupid person," 1909, American English slang, perhaps a shortening of booby. For the "woman's breast" sense, see boobs. Mencken seems to have coined booboisie (1922). barbarian (adj.)boob (n.)dodo (n.)dupe (n.) updated on October 21, 2022
随便看	bottle-nose bottom bottomless bottom line bottom-most botulism bouche boudoir bouffant bougainvillaea bougainvillea bough bought boughten bougie bouillabaisse bouillon boulder boulevard boulevardier bounce bouncer bouncing bouncy bound

booby n.

Entries linking to booby