goon English · revision 1976

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɡuːn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably short for [[gooney]] “a simpleton”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) a dialect variant of obsolete ''gony'' (1580s),^(RHWU)^(Etymonline) which sailors applied to the albatross and similar large, clumsy birds.^(Etymonline) Random House notes the influence of the comic-strip character Alice the Goon in E. C. Segar's ''Thimble Theatre''.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A dull or stupid person (1921).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In 1921 the American humorist Frederick J. Allen wrote of “The Goon and His Style”, defining a goon as a person with a heavy touch, the opposite of a light-touched “jigger”.^(Etymonline) From 1938 a goon was a thug hired, especially by racketeers, to terrorize workers or opponents.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) British and American prisoners in the Second World War used it for their German guards.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) In Britain the word was also attached to the cast of the radio comedy ''The Goon Show'' (1951).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1580s – ''gony'', a simpleton.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1896 – ''gooney'', a stupid person.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1921 – a stupid or dull person.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1938 – a hired thug.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1945 – a German prison-camp guard.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1951 – a member of ''The Goon Show''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A thug hired to intimidate or harm opponents.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A stupid, oafish or awkward person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[goon squad]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gooney]]

+ * [[goonish]]

+ * [[albatross]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}