bumpkin

¹

[buhmp-kin]

noun

Informal.

1. an awkward, simple, unsophisticated person from a rural area; yokel.

   Synonyms: yahoo, hick, rube, hayseed, hillbilly, boor, clod

bumpkin

²

Also boom·kin

[buhmp-kin]

noun

Nautical.

1. a beam or spar projecting outward from the hull of a vessel, for extending a sail, securing blocks, etc.

bumpkin

¹

/ ˈbʌmpkɪn /

noun

1. an awkward simple rustic person (esp in the phrase country bumpkin )

bumpkin

²

/ ˈbʌmpkɪn /

noun

1. variant spellings of boomkin

Other Word Forms

• bumpkinish adjective
• bumpkinly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bumpkin¹

1560–70; < Middle Dutch bommekijn “little barrel,” equivalent to boom beam + -kijn -kin

Origin of bumpkin²

First recorded in 1625–35; from Middle Dutch boomken, equivalent to boom “tree, pole, beam” + -ken, diminutive suffix; boom ², beam, -kin

Word History and Origins

Origin of bumpkin¹

C16 (perhaps originally applied to Dutchmen): perhaps from Dutch boomken small tree, or from Middle Dutch boomekijn small barrel, alluding to a short or squat person

Example Sentences

Adebimpe exclaimed between bites of mushroom tagliatelle, adopting a bumpkin commentator’s voice.

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“Shanghai was the place to be. It had the best restaurants, the best nightclubs, the coolest people. I felt like such a country bumpkin, but I learned fast.”

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According to Taylor in his autobiography, “Private Domain,” Mr. Wagoner took on the persona “of being a bumpkin in the Big City for all it’s worth.”

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“People may call me an ignorant bumpkin,” he once said.

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So a school that I had never visited, Harvard, took an enormous risk and accepted me, and I became a token country bumpkin to round out a class of polished overachievers.

Read more on Seattle Times

Related Words

• country bumpkin www.thesaurus.com
• rube