different between dunce vs bumpkin

English

Etymology

1530, named after John Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308).

Scotus was ironically a well-known Scottish thinker. His followers, however, opposed the philosophers of the Renaissance, and thus "dunce" was first used to describe someone rejecting new knowledge in 1530; later, any stupid person.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d?ns/
• Rhymes: -?ns

Noun

dunce (plural dunces)

1. An unintelligent person.

   Synonyms: idiot; see also Thesaurus:idiot

   • 1855, Robert Browning, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”, XXX:

     [...] Dunce, / Dotard, a-dozing at the very nonce, / After a life spent training for the sight!

Derived terms

• dunce cap
• duncedom
• dunce hat
• duncehood
• duncelike
• duncely
• duncish/dunceish

Translations

Further reading

• “dunce”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

References

English

Etymology

From Dutch boomken (“shrub, little tree”), equivalent to boom +? -kin. Note that the English word boom is etymologically related to the aforementioned in the sense of "large stem", or "big tree". Compare German Baumke, Bäumchen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?b?mpk?n/
• Hyphenation: bump?kin

Noun

bumpkin (plural bumpkins)

1. A clumsy, unsophisticated person; a yokel.
2. (nautical) A short boom or spar used to extend a sail or secure a stay.
3. Dance, a series of reels, Scottish.
   • 1836, Joanna Baillie, The Phantom, Act 1.

     They mix with Dancers, who now advance to the front, where a bumpkin, or dance of many interwoven reels, is performed; after which the Bride is led to a seat, and some of her Maidens sit by her.

Derived terms

• country bumpkin
• joskin

Translations