"bozo" meaning in English

See bozo in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈbəʊ.zəʊ/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Simplificationalizer-bozo.wav [General-American], En-au-bozo.ogg [Australia] Forms: bozos [plural]
Rhymes: -əʊzəʊ Etymology: Attested since the 1910s in American English, of uncertain origin. The term may derive from Spanish bozal, a term originally for a recently-imported slave and then "someone who speaks (Spanish) poorly". The term is older than Bozo the Clown, introduced in 1946. Derivation of the term from French bouseux /bu.zø/, a derogative term for a farmer equivalent to "bumpkin", is phonologically unlikely. Another possibility is Japanese 坊主 (bōzu) in its meaning of "young man", which can be derogatory, depending on the context. Etymology templates: {{der|en|es|bozal}} Spanish bozal Head templates: {{en-noun}} bozo (plural bozos)
  1. (slang) A stupid, foolish, or ridiculous person, especially a man. Wikipedia link: Bozo the Clown Tags: slang Categories (topical): People Derived forms: bozo bin, bozo eruption, bozo filter, bozosity, bozotic Translations ((slang) a stupid or foolish person): tökfej (Hungarian), kretén (Hungarian), idióta (Hungarian), marha (Hungarian), hülye (Hungarian), ostoba pofa/csávó/alak/ürge/ipse (Hungarian), głupek [masculine] (Polish), palant [masculine] (Polish), przygłup [masculine] (Polish), тупи́ца (tupíca) [feminine, masculine] (Russian), приду́рок (pridúrok) [masculine] (Russian), dåre [common-gender] (Swedish), pappskalle [common-gender] (Swedish)

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for bozo meaning in English (4.3kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "es",
        "3": "bozal"
      },
      "expansion": "Spanish bozal",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Attested since the 1910s in American English, of uncertain origin. The term may derive from Spanish bozal, a term originally for a recently-imported slave and then \"someone who speaks (Spanish) poorly\". The term is older than Bozo the Clown, introduced in 1946. Derivation of the term from French bouseux /bu.zø/, a derogative term for a farmer equivalent to \"bumpkin\", is phonologically unlikely. Another possibility is Japanese 坊主 (bōzu) in its meaning of \"young man\", which can be derogatory, depending on the context.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bozos",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "bozo (plural bozos)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "People",
          "orig": "en:People",
          "parents": [
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "bozo bin"
        },
        {
          "word": "bozo eruption"
        },
        {
          "word": "bozo filter"
        },
        {
          "word": "bozosity"
        },
        {
          "word": "bozotic"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 51",
          "text": "‘What’s the big bozo up to?’",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A stupid, foolish, or ridiculous person, especially a man."
      ],
      "id": "en-bozo-en-noun-IJJ-Dnsa",
      "links": [
        [
          "stupid",
          "stupid"
        ],
        [
          "foolish",
          "foolish"
        ],
        [
          "ridiculous",
          "ridiculous"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang) A stupid, foolish, or ridiculous person, especially a man."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "word": "tökfej"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "word": "kretén"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "word": "idióta"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "word": "marha"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "word": "hülye"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "word": "ostoba pofa/csávó/alak/ürge/ipse"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "głupek"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "palant"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "przygłup"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "tupíca",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "tags": [
            "feminine",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "тупи́ца"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "pridúrok",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "приду́рок"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "dåre"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "pappskalle"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Bozo the Clown"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbəʊ.zəʊ/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-əʊzəʊ"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Simplificationalizer-bozo.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/50/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Simplificationalizer-bozo.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Simplificationalizer-bozo.wav.mp3",
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      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-bozo.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/04/En-au-bozo.ogg/En-au-bozo.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/En-au-bozo.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bozo"
}
{
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "bozo bin"
    },
    {
      "word": "bozo eruption"
    },
    {
      "word": "bozo filter"
    },
    {
      "word": "bozosity"
    },
    {
      "word": "bozotic"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "es",
        "3": "bozal"
      },
      "expansion": "Spanish bozal",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Attested since the 1910s in American English, of uncertain origin. The term may derive from Spanish bozal, a term originally for a recently-imported slave and then \"someone who speaks (Spanish) poorly\". The term is older than Bozo the Clown, introduced in 1946. Derivation of the term from French bouseux /bu.zø/, a derogative term for a farmer equivalent to \"bumpkin\", is phonologically unlikely. Another possibility is Japanese 坊主 (bōzu) in its meaning of \"young man\", which can be derogatory, depending on the context.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bozos",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "bozo (plural bozos)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English 2-syllable words",
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
        "English lemmas",
        "English nouns",
        "English slang",
        "English terms derived from Spanish",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Rhymes:English/əʊzəʊ",
        "Rhymes:English/əʊzəʊ/2 syllables",
        "en:People"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 51",
          "text": "‘What’s the big bozo up to?’",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A stupid, foolish, or ridiculous person, especially a man."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "stupid",
          "stupid"
        ],
        [
          "foolish",
          "foolish"
        ],
        [
          "ridiculous",
          "ridiculous"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang) A stupid, foolish, or ridiculous person, especially a man."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Bozo the Clown"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbəʊ.zəʊ/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-əʊzəʊ"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Simplificationalizer-bozo.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/50/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Simplificationalizer-bozo.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Simplificationalizer-bozo.wav.mp3",
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      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-bozo.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/04/En-au-bozo.ogg/En-au-bozo.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/En-au-bozo.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "word": "tökfej"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "word": "kretén"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "word": "idióta"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "word": "marha"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "word": "hülye"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "word": "ostoba pofa/csávó/alak/ürge/ipse"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "głupek"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "palant"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "przygłup"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "tupíca",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "тупи́ца"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "pridúrok",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "приду́рок"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "dåre"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "(slang) a stupid or foolish person",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "pappskalle"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bozo"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-12 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (ae36afe and 304864d). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.