oaf
[ ohf ]
/ oʊf /
noun
a clumsy, stupid person; lout.
a simpleton; dunce; blockhead.
Archaic.
- a deformed or mentally deficient child.
- a changeling.
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RELATED WORDS
clod, fool, moron, dunce, idiot, goon, lout, brute, loser, beast, chump, blunderer, imbecile, clown, simpleton, klutz, nincompoop, sap, dolt, bruiser
Nearby words
Origin of oaf
1615–25; variant of auf, Middle English alfe, Old English ælf elf; cognate with German Alp nightmare
Synonym study
1. See boorish.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for oaf
oaf
/ (əʊf) /
noun
a stupid or loutish person
Word Origin for oaf
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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oaf
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper