curmudgeon
[ ker-muhj-uhn ]
/ kərˈmʌdʒ ən /
noun
a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
sorehead, grump, crank, crab, killjoy, growler, whiner, crosspatch, faultfinder, grouch, misanthrope, complainer, sourpuss, bear, malcontent, kicker, bug, griper, sulker, grouser
Nearby words
curly palm, curly top, curly-coated retriever, curlycue, curlyhead, curmudgeon, curmudgeonly, curn, curnow, curr, currach
Origin of curmudgeon
SYNONYMS FOR curmudgeon
Related formscur·mudg·eon·ly, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for curmudgeon
British Dictionary definitions for curmudgeon
curmudgeon
/ (kɜːˈmʌdʒən) /
noun
a surly or miserly person
Derived Formscurmudgeonly, adjective
Word Origin for curmudgeon
C16: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for curmudgeon
curmudgeon
1570s, of unknown origin; the suggestion, based on a misreading of a garbled note from Johnson, that it is from French coeur mechant "evil heart" is not taken seriously; the first syllable may be cur "dog." Liberman says the word "must have been borrowed from Gaelic (and references muigean "disagreeable person"), with variant spelling of intensive prefix ker-. Related: Curmudgeonly.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper