spoof

Etymology

It was invented by the British comedian Arthur Roberts (1852–1933) as the name of a game of hoaxing and nonsense.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Etymonline and Barnhart give the earlier spelling “Spouf” (1884),^[7][4] and Etymonline says that Roberts invented or revived the game.^[7] The OED classes it as an arbitrary formation.^[2] The verb comes from the noun.^[2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A game of a hoaxing and nonsensical character, also a card game in which certain cards occurring together are called spoof: 1884, in the Topical Times.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

From the name of the game the word passed in 1889 to a hoax or humbug, and in the same year the verb was used for "to hoax, trick", both first recorded in letters of Ernest Dowson.^[2][9][4] The sense of a light-hearted parody came in the 20th century: the verb "to parody" is dated to 1914 by Barnhart and Etymonline and to 1927 by the OED,^[4][7][2] and the noun sense to 1914 by Barnhart, 1920 by Etymonline and 1958 by the OED.^[4][7][2] In 1972 the verb was applied to deceiving a radar system with false information,^[2][7] and Collins records the sense of sending electronic messages under a false identity.^[10] Green's Dictionary of Slang also records the word as an adjective, fake or sham, from 1906.^[9]

Timeline

• 1884 – a hoaxing game; also attributive, hoaxing.^[2][7]
• 1889 – noun, a hoax, humbug; verb, to hoax, trick.^[2][4][9]
• 1914 – a light satirical parody.^[4]
• 1927 – verb, to send up by parody.^[2]
• 1972 – verb, to disable a radar system with false information.^[2][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A light-hearted parody or satire of something: The film is a spoof of old detective movies.^[10][11][2]
2. A good-humoured hoax or trick.^[10][11][2]
3. (historical) A game based on bluff, or a card game in which certain cards together are called spoof.^[2][8]

Verb

1. To make fun of something by a parody: The sketch spoofed the evening news.^[10][11][2]
2. To deceive by a hoax; to trick.^[11][2][8]
3. To send electronic messages or signals under a false identity, or to feed false signals to a radar system.^[10][2][8]

Word family

• spoofery
• spoofy

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
10. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster