Clodpole

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A foolish, slow-witted person who lacks common sense and is often mocked for it
2. An old-fashioned insult aimed at someone regarded as dim, dense or thick-headed
3. Someone considered stupid or dull, a term of mild contempt used in older English

Etymology: "Clodpole" is a compound of two older English words: "clod," a lump of earth or clay, and "pole," which here meant "head." Put together, the term literally described someone with a head full of clay, a dull lump where wits should be. The "pole" element is the surprising part. In this sense it is an old word for the head, the same thing that appears in phrases like "pate" or "noddle," and it survives mainly in compounds such as this one. Insults built on the picture of a clod-headed person were common in the period when the word took shape, and "clodpole" fits that pattern of mocking dullness through a physical image of a lifeless lump.

Synonyms: blockhead, dolt, numskull, dunce, clod