Dud

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /dʌd/

Definitions

1. An object that does not function as expected or is ineffective ; an individual who does not meet expectations or is considered a failure
2. Something that fails to operate correctly or lacks value ; a person who is regarded as inept or a disappointment
3. An item that proves useless or defective when used ; a person who is unsuccessful or falls short of aspirations

Etymology: The sense "failure, worthless thing" grew out of a word for clothing. Middle English "dudde" meant a cloak, a mantle, or a coarse, ragged cloth, and the Old English form survives mainly as a personal name, the root of modern "Dudley." Related forms appear in Old Norse "dúði," meaning swaddling clothes, and in Low German, which suggests the word belonged to a family of terms for wrapping and rags. How a word for ragged cloth became a word for something that fails is not fully recorded. The most common explanation links it to a possible Old Norse source and to a verb meaning "to shake" or "tremble," though this connection is uncertain. Rags and worthless cloth were easily associated with things of no value, and the sense of something useless or defective followed from that.

Synonyms: failure, lemon, flop

Antonyms: success, hit