Etymologically
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dudgeon

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdʌdʒ.ən/[1]

Etymology

It is of unknown origin.[2][3][4][5] Etymonline mentions the suggestion of Italian aduggiare (“to overshadow”), which would parallel umbrage;[3] a Celtic source such as Welsh dygen “malice, resentment” has also been proposed, but the OED considers it historically impossible.[3] Barnhart compares the endings of bludgeon and curmudgeon.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A feeling of anger, resentment or offence, recorded as duggin in 1573.[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

The spelling dudgeon is first recorded in 1599.[2] The word is almost always used in the phrase in dudgeon, especially in high dudgeon,[6][7] and as an adjective meant “resentful, ill-humoured” (1589).[6]

Timeline

  • 1573 – duggin, resentment.[2][6]
  • 1589 – adjective, resentful (obsolete).[6]
  • 1599 – the spelling dudgeon.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A sullen, angry or indignant mood: in high dudgeon.

Usage notes

An older, unrelated dudgeon (15th century) was a kind of wood, perhaps boxwood, used for the handles of knives and daggers, and then a dagger with such a hilt;[6][7][8] it is perhaps from Anglo-Norman digeon.[7][9]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster