kerfuffle English · revision 2181

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kəˈfʌfəl/ ''(UK)''; /kɚˈfʌfəl/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an alteration of Scots ''carfuffle, curfuffle'',^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) from ''car-'', probably from Scottish Gaelic ''cearr'' “wrong, awkward”, and ''fuffle'' “to become dishevelled”.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A disturbance, commotion or fuss.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989) Merriam-Webster and the OED date ''kerfuffle'' to 1946;^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989) Etymonline dates the form ''kafuffle'' to 1946 and ''kerfuffle'' to 1970, with Canadian use said to go back to about 1930.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word has kept its meaning, a minor row or commotion,^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary) and Merriam-Webster labels it chiefly British.^(MW Collegiate) Wiktionary records many variant spellings, such as ''kafuffle'' and ''kurfuffle''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c1930 – said to be used in Canadian English.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1946 – a disturbance, fuss.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1970 – the spelling ''kerfuffle''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' A disturbance, commotion or fuss.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[curfuffle]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}