|
|
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 2
stranger
|
OP
stranger
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 2 |
hi could anyone tell me the origin of the word 'OAF' traditional usage has it the the word means a dimwit or stupid person, does it also mean anything else?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
etymonline.com gives:
oaf
1610 (implied in oafish), also auf (1621), "a changeling; a foolish child left by the fairies" [Johnson], from a Scand. source, cf. Norw. alfr "silly person," in O.N., "elf" (see elf). Hence, "a misbegotten, deformed idiot." Until recently, some dictionaries still gave the plural as oaves.
I have never heard it used any other way, though it's likely an acronym for something!
welcome, shalini!
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230 |
I agree with etaoin that an acronym is a real possibility. Especially when spelled entirely in uppercase letters. Here are some links to investigate: http://snipurl.com/hfex-mq42
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
I have heard the expression "big dumb oaf" which, it seems, is redundant.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
"big dumb oaf"
Yes, there is a subtle difference between tautology, redundancy, and augmentation.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
> is redundant Only if you take the meaning of dumb to be merely synonymous with stupid (which is only its prime sense in American versions of English), Father Steve - but if you allow for its alternate and much older meanings of 'speechless' it is indeed a meaningful augmentation. http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/dumb?view=ukedit: add link
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
While I doubt there is any connection, it always seemed apt to me that "oaf" means "chicken" (or) "fowl" in Hebrew.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
so which came first already, the chicken or the oeuf?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
And, œuf (actually øf) is what a Danish pig says. Oink and out.
And, who'd've thunk that oaf, elf, and albino were all related? Along with albedo, albumen, and album.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230 |
Re: >redundancy.
As flattered as I am to be thought of as one and the same with our Moorish padre, it really ought to have been his post you replied to, not mine, boyo.
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,322
Members9,182
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
501
guests, and
0
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
