Nicompoop

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who is silly, foolish, or lacking in sense or judgment
2. Someone who behaves in a ridiculous or dim-witted manner without much intelligence
3. An individual of notably poor judgment or mental capacity who acts in absurd ways

Etymology: The word "nicompoop" is simply an older spelling of "nincompoop," and its history is a puzzle that dictionaries have never fully solved. Early forms from the 16th century, such as "nickumpoop" and "nicompoop," show that the word was already in use then, with its spelling still unsettled. The first half, "nin-" or "nick-", is probably connected to one of two names or words. One possibility is the personal name Nicholas, or Nicodemus, the Pharisee in the Bible who puzzles over Jesus's teaching in the Gospel of John. French has a parallel, "nicodème," meaning a foolish or gullible person, which may point to Nicodemus as the source. The other possibility is "ninny," an older English word for a foolish person. The ending "-poop" is most likely the obsolete verb "poop," meaning to cheat or fool someone. The English lexicographer Samuel Johnson suggested that the first part came from the Latin phrase "non compos" ("not of sound mind"), but the Oxford English Dictionary points out that the early spellings do not support this.