Humpty Dumpty

[ huhmp-tee duhmp-tee ]

noun

1. an egg-shaped character in a Mother Goose nursery rhyme that fell off a wall and could not be put together again.
2. (sometimes lowercase) something that has been damaged severely and usually irreparably.

humpty dumpty

/ ˈhʌmptɪ ˈdʌmptɪ /

noun

1. a short fat person
2. a person or thing that once overthrown or broken cannot be restored or mended

“Humpty Dumpty”

1. A nursery rhyme:

   Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;

   Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

   All the king's horses and all the king's men

   Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Humpty Dumpty¹

Rhyming compound based on humpty; hump, -ed ³, -y ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of Humpty Dumpty¹

C18: after the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty