Etymologically
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curmudgeon

Etymology and origin of the English word curmudgeon

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kɜːˈmʌdʒ.ən/ (UK); /kɚˈmʌd͡ʒ.ən/ (US)[1]

Etymology

Of unknown origin.[2][3][4][5] Suggestions include a first syllable from cur “dog”[3][6] and a link with Middle English margon “dregs, refuse”, though there is no evidence for the latter.[3] Liberman argues that it was borrowed from Gaelic, comparing muigean “disagreeable person”, and rejects the cur theory.[4] Samuel Johnson's dictionary of 1755 passed on an anonymous correspondent's derivation from French cœur méchant “evil heart”,[2] which is no longer taken seriously, and neither is a supposed corruption of corn merchant.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A churlish, miserly fellow; a miser.[4][7][5]

Semantic evolution

The sense “miser” is now archaic,[5] and the usual sense is a crusty, ill-tempered person full of stubborn notions, often an old man.[2][5][1]

Timeline

  • 1568 – curmogine, in Drant's translation of Gregory of Nazianzus;[4] Merriam-Webster also gives 1568.[5]
  • 1577 – curmudgen, the first record in the American Heritage Dictionary, the OED and Barnhart.[2][7][3]
  • 1755 – Johnson prints the cœur méchant etymology.[2]
  • 1775 – John Ash garbles it as French cœur “unknown” and méchant “a correspondent”.[2]
  • 1836 – the corn merchant explanation is attested.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A bad-tempered, stubborn person, often an older man.
  2. (archaic) A miser.

Word family

  • curmudgeonly
  • curmudgeonry
  • curmudgeonliness

References

  1. [1] [2] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. [1] [2] [3] [4] Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. [1] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. [1] [2] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Curmudgeon.” Etymologically, 7 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/curmudgeon. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .