name
Meaning 1
The Mande language of these people.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
bozo
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ˈboʊ.zoʊ/
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/ˈbəʊ.zəʊ/
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General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -oʊzoʊ
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rhymes with -əʊzəʊ
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CMU ARPABET: B OW1 Z OW2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A stupid, foolish, or ridiculous person, especially a man.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A member of a West African ethnic group located predominantly along the Niger River in Mali, famous for their fishing
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
an informal term for a youth or man
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a nice guy
- the guy's only doing it for some doll
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: guy, cat, hombre
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: man, adult male
Narrower terms: sod
noun
Meaning 5
a man who is a stupid incompetent fool
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: fathead, goof, goofball, jackass, goose, cuckoo, twat, zany
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: fool, sap, saphead, muggins, tomfool
History
Etymology
Thought to derive from the Bambara language, meaning "bamboo house".
Attested since the 1910s in American English, of uncertain origin. The term may derive from Spanish bozal, a term originally for a recently-imported slave and then "someone who speaks (Spanish) poorly". The term is older than Bozo the Clown, introduced in 1946. It is used as an insult in the 1931 Marx Brothers movie Monkey Business (1931 film). Derivation of the term from French bouseux /bu.zø/, a derogative term for a farmer equivalent to "bumpkin", is phonologically unlikely. Another possibility is Japanese 坊主 (bōzu) in its meaning of "young man", which can be derogatory, depending on the context.
Across languages
Translations
19 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Hindi: चपड़गंजू (capaṛgañjū) — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Hungarian: tökfej — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Hungarian: kretén — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Hungarian: idióta — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Hungarian: marha — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Hungarian: hülye — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Hungarian: ostoba pofa/csávó/alak/ürge/ipse — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Indonesian: orang bodoh — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Macedonian: шутрак (šutrak) — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Macedonian: акмак (akmak) — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Macedonian: глупак (glupak) — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Polish: głupek — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Polish: palant — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Polish: przygłup — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Russian: тупи́ца (tupíca) — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Russian: приду́рок (pridúrok) — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Russian: дура́к (durák) — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Swedish: dåre — (slang) a stupid or foolish person
- Swedish: pappskalle — (slang) a stupid or foolish person