oaf
[ohf]
- a clumsy, stupid person; lout.
- a simpleton; dunce; blockhead.
- Archaic.
- a deformed or mentally deficient child.
- a changeling.
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Origin of oaf
1615–25; variant of auf, Middle English alfe, Old English ælf elf; cognate with German Alp nightmare
Synonyms
See more synonyms for oaf on Thesaurus.com1. churl, boor. 2. dolt, ninny.
Synonym study
1. See boorish.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for oaf
Historical Examples
With Bill Forrester dead, then, had she turned to the oaf for comfort?
Pagan PassionsGordon Randall Garrett
The oaf shambled along, his arm no longer around Gerda's waist.
Pagan PassionsGordon Randall Garrett
Viewed objectively, there was nothing wrong with what the oaf was doing.
Pagan PassionsGordon Randall Garrett
He and Joe were well matched and with the oaf as an ally really he had all the best of it.
MercenaryDallas McCord Reynolds
For a double second he had the oaf alone on his hands and that was sufficient.
MercenaryDallas McCord Reynolds
oaf
- a stupid or loutish person
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Word Origin
C17: variant of Old English ælf elf
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 oaf
n.
1620s, auf, oph (modern form from 1630s), "a changeling; a foolish child left by the fairies" [Johnson], from a Scandinavian source, cf. Norwegian alfr "silly person," in Old Norse, "elf" (see elf). Hence, "a misbegotten, deformed idiot." Until recently, some dictionaries still gave the plural as oaves.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper