fooling

nounjoking, tricks

Synonyms for fooling

MOST RELEVANT

Antonyms for fooling

seriousness

Word Origin & History

late 13c., "silly or stupid person," from Old French fol "madman, insane person; idiot; rogue; jester," also "blacksmith's bellows," also an adjective meaning "mad, insane" (12c., Modern French fou), from Latin follis "bellows, leather bag" (see follicle); in Vulgar Latin used with a sense of "windbag, empty-headed person." Cf. also Sanskrit vatula- "insane," literally "windy, inflated with wind."

Meaning "jester, court clown" first attested late 14c., though it is not always possible to tell whether the reference is to a professional entertainer or an amusing lunatic on the payroll. As the name of a kind of custard dish, it is attested from 1590s (the food also was called trifle, which may be the source of the name).

Feast of Fools (early 14c.), from Medieval Latin festum stultorum) refers to the burlesque festival celebrated in some churches on New Year's Day in medieval times. Fool's gold "iron pyrite" is from 1829. Fool's paradise "state of illusory happiness" is from mid-15c. Foolosopher, a most useful insult, turns up in a 1549 translation of Erasmus. Fool's ballocks is described in OED as "an old name" for the green-winged orchid.

Example Sentences forfooling

I wouldn't have minded humoring him and fooling about it a little.

If our men get to fooling with their women, they'll spear the lot of us!

Warner's fooling amused them and relieved the painful tension of their minds.

Was she fooling him, this girl with the angel-innocence of glance?

Mr. Gladstone is fooling the people on both sides the water.

He was fooling round, and then, all of a sudden, he broke water clear.

Fooling with this one had apparently ruined the whole business.

Our Danny is mighty cute and maybe he's only fooling them teachers.

We've had orders every morning to say, 'I don't know'—and it's gotten to be a joke—and I was just fooling.

“Better not go to fooling too much, Ben,” warned the master.

fooling

pranks

shenanigan

fooling

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