Putz

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /pʌts/

Definitions

1. A derogatory term is used to describe someone considered inept or foolish in their behavior and decisions, indicating a lack of intelligence or common sense that often results in poor judgment
2. A term to insult someone viewed as silly or clueless ; a vulgar word for the male genitalia
3. Used negatively for a person showing poor judgment or awkwardness ; crude slang referring to a man's private organ

Etymology: Yiddish "pots" (פּאָץ) was a vulgar word for the penis, and in Yiddish it also carried the sense of a fool, so calling someone a "putz" in English has always been a mild insult of a fool's kind. The word came into English through Yiddish, which spread it among immigrant communities in the United States and then into mainstream American speech. A second source runs alongside the first. Pennsylvania German, the dialect brought by German settlers, had "Putz", related to German "Putz", meaning ornament or finery, and "putzen", to clean or decorate. Those senses are older and more innocent, and they show that the word once had nothing to do with foolishness. The English term that readers now use came from the Yiddish side, and the Pennsylvania German form is a separate, related word. The verb "putz", meaning to waste time or to mess about, follows the same pattern in English, and the Yiddish word "futz" shows a parallel development in meaning.

Synonyms: fool, idiot, dunce

Antonyms: genius, sage