gullible

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɡʌlɪbl̩/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from gull “to dupe”^[2][3][4] with the suffix -ible.^[3][4] Etymonline treats it as a back-formation from gullibility,^[5] itself preceded by cullibility.^[5] The verb gull “to deceive” earlier meant “to swallow”,^[5][6] and comes from obsolete gull “throat, gullet”,^[5][7] or, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, from Middle English golen “to pretend to swallow”.^[2] A gull is thus someone who will swallow anything.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Easily cheated or fooled.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1530 – verb gull, “to swallow”;^[6] Etymonline gives the 1520s.^[5]
• 1540s – verb gull, “to dupe, cheat”.^[5]
• 1728 – cullibility.^[5]
• 1793 – gullibility;^[6][3] Etymonline gives 1782.^[5]
• 1818 – the spelling gullable;^[5] Merriam-Webster dates the adjective to 1818.^[7]
• 1821 – gullible.^[5]
• 1825 – the OED's first quotation.^[6]
• 1877 – gullibly.^[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Easily deceived or cheated.

Noun

1. A gullible person.

Word family

• gullibility
• gullibly

Related words

• gull
• gullet

References

1. [1] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. [1] [2] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. [1] [2] [3] Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. [1] [2] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
5. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. [1] [2] [3] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster