Numerousfolk etymologies exist for this word.
An alternative spelling attested in 1600 iscornmudgin, inHolland's translation of Livy, rendering Latinfrūmentārius(“corn-merchant”). This has been suggested as the original form of the word, butOED notes thatcurmudgeon is attested some years before this, concluding thatcornmudgin was merely a nonce-word by Holland.
The word is attested from the late 1500s in the formscurmudgeon andcurmudgen, and during the 17th century in numerous spelling variants, includingcormogeon, cormogion, cormoggian, cormudgeon, curmudgion, curmuggion, curmudgin, curr-mudgin, curre-megient.
curmudgeon (pluralcurmudgeons)
- Anill-tempered person full ofstubborn ideas oropinions, often an older man.
- Near-synonyms:crank,grump;grumpy pants(oftenchildish)
There's a crankycurmudgeon working at the hospital who gives all the patients and other doctors flak.
John Doe's old age and stubborn aversion to new ideas make him acurmudgeon of a candidate.
1996, Jeet Heer,Gravitas,Autumn 1996:After a while, as cultural debates became more polarized, the editorial tone of theNew Criterion went from being charminglycurmudgeon to being bitterly shrill.
2006,The New York Times[1]:How to Be aCurmudgeon on the Internet
2007,The Times[2]:How should I respond, without appearing to be acurmudgeon?
- (archaic) Amiser.
an ill-tempered stubborn person
- Bulgarian:темерут (bg) m(temerut)
- Czech:bručoun (cs) m,mrzout (cs) m
- Dutch:iezegrim (nl) m,kankeraar (nl)
- Esperanto:grumblemulo,grumblulo
- Finnish:äkämys (fi),kääkkä (fi)
- French:bourru (fr) m,baderne (fr) f,ganache (fr) f,rombière (fr) f
- German:Griesgram (de) m,Miesepeter (de) m,Spielverderber (de) m
- Italian:burbero (it) m,musone (it) m
- Japanese:意地の悪い人(ijinowarui hito)
- Korean:꼰대 (ko)(kkondae)
- Macedonian:намќор m(namḱor)
- Maori:porokaihākere
- Polish:gbur (pl) m,mruk (pl) m,zrzęda (pl) f
- Portuguese:rabugento (pt) m,casmurro (pt) m,caturra (pt)
- Russian:грубия́н (ru) m(grubiján),грубия́нка (ru) f(grubijánka),старый (ru)(staryj)ворчин(vorčin) (old grumbler)
- Scots:Archie m
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic:намћор
- Roman:namćor
- Spanish:testarudo (es) m,cascarrabias (es) m orf
- Welsh:cingroen m,cerlyn m,gŵr crintach m
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