bumpkin
noun
- a short boom projecting from a sailing ship, used as in securing a stay or brace
- an awkward or simple person from the country
See bumpkin in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(bŭmpˈkĭn, bŭmˈ-)
noun An awkward, unsophisticated person; a yokel.
Word History: The term
bumpkin may at one time have been directed at an entire people rather than that segment of the population living in a rural area. The first recorded appearance of the word in 1570 is glossed by the Latin word
Batavus, “Dutchman,” making plausible the suggestion that
bumpkin may come from either the Middle Dutch word
bommekijn, “little barrel,” or the Flemish word
boomken, “shrub.” The connection would be between a squat object and the short rotund figure of the Dutchman in the popular imagination. Any bumpkin would surely prefer this etymology to the suggestion that
bumpkin is a derivative of
bum, “the rear end.”
(bŭmpˈkĭn, bŭmˈ-)
noun A short spar projecting from the deck of a ship, used to extend a sail or secure a block or stay.
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