bamboozle English · revision 2391

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bæmˈbuː.zl̩/ ''(UK)''; /bæmˈbu.zl̩/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Of unknown or uncertain origin;^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) it began as a slang or cant word.^(Etymonline) Barnhart compares Scottish ''bumbaze, bombaze'' “to confuse”, perhaps from ''bombase'' “to pad with cotton” and so related to [[bombast]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Etymonline also mentions French ''embabouiner'' “to make a fool (literally a baboon) of”, and Wedgwood's suggestion of Italian ''bambolo'' “a babe”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To deceive by trickery, to hoax or impose on someone (1703).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) A noun meaning “a trick, a hoax” is recorded in the same year.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the start the word was used both of practising trickery in general and of tricking a particular person.^(OED 1989) By 1712 it had also come to mean “to mystify, perplex”,^(OED 1989) a sense in which Merriam-Webster gives the example of a quarterback confused by an unexpected defence.^(MW Collegiate) Phrases like ''bamboozle into'' (1716) describe persuading someone by trickery.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1703 – to deceive by trickery; also as a noun, “a hoax”.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1712 – to mystify or perplex.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1716 – ''bamboozle away'', ''bamboozle into''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To deceive or cheat by trickery, flattery or underhanded methods; to hoodwink.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To confuse, perplex or thoroughly throw off.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To practise trickery.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bamboozlement]]

+ * [[bamboozler]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bombast]]

+ * [[hoodwink]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}