Oxford dictionary launches search for origins of word ‘numpty’

London, June 14

English language enthusiasts, take note! The Oxford English Dictionary has launched a search to find the first recorded use in English of the word ‘numpty’, which means a foolish or stupid person.

Since the mid-1980s, numpty has been used as a mild term of abuse in Britain.

The earliest evidence found by Oxford English Dictionary (OED) researchers is from a 1988 book by Michael Munro, chronicling colloquialisms in Glasgow, Scotland, according to a post on the OxfordWords blog.

The researchers want to find out if Glaswegians really were the first to call people numpties, or the term existed earlier in other parts of the UK.

The adjective, meaning ‘foolish or idiotic’, appears to have been used first a few years later than the noun, on the TV show Rab C Nesbitt.

The OED researchers are now searching for evidence of ‘numpty’ before 1988.

“Part of the process of revising words and phrases for the OED involves searching for evidence of a word’s first recorded use in English, and for this we need your help,” the blog post said.

The OED team has urged anyone who knows where numpty began to be used to pass on their knowledge of how it came to be. — PTI