nincompoop (n.)
1670s, nicompoop, also ninkompoop; the modern form is attested by 1680s. Another frequent spelling through 18c. was nickum-poop. Defined in the 1699 Dictionary of the Canting Crew as "a Fool, also a silly soft, Uxorious Fellow."
Despite the similarity [noted by Johnson] to the Latin legal phrase non compos mentis "insane, mentally incompetent" (c. 1600), the connection is denied by the OED's etymologists because the earliest forms lack the second -n-. Weekley thinks first element may be a proper name, and cites Nicodemus, which he says was used in French for "a fool," or Nicholas. 17c. slang also offers Nickum as a term for a cheat, said by the Dictionaries of the Scots Language to be a diminutive of Nick in the sense of the devil. Klein says it is probably an invented word. Century Dictionary has no objection to the non compos mentis theory.
"And dost thou bid me good morrow ? Why, you Ninny, you Nicompoop, you Noun Adjective, for thou canst not stand by thy self, I am sure;" etc. [Thomas D'Urfey, "A Fool's Preferment," 1688]
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updated on December 09, 2023
