different between oaf vs dullard

English

Alternative forms

• auf

Etymology

From auf, Old Norse álfr (“elf”) (whence Norwegian Bokmål alv). Doublet of elf.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??f/
• (US) IPA^(key): /o?f/
• Rhymes: -??f

Noun

oaf (plural oafs or oaves)

1. (derogatory) A person, especially a large male, who is clumsy or a simpleton.

   Ouch! You dropped that box on my feet, you lumbering oaf!

2. (obsolete) An elf's child; a changeling left by fairies or goblins, hence, a deformed or foolish child.

Synonyms

• (clumsy or idiotic person): dummy, galoot, imbecile, lout, moron, fool

Derived terms

• oafish

Translations

References

Further reading

• oaf at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• FAO, Foa, OFA, fao, of a

English

Etymology

From Middle English dullard, dollard, equivalent to dull +? -ard (pejorative agent suffix).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?d?l?d/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?d?l?d/
• Hyphenation: dul?lard

Noun

dullard (plural dullards)

1. A stupid person; a fool.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:fool

   • 1995, Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures: And Other Reports from My Life with Autism, Vintage Books (2006), page 211:

     Whereas some prodigies develop at an early age, Einstein did not exhibit any great genius as a young child. Some people thought he was a dullard.

Translations

Further reading

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