fool

Noun · Verb
Synonyms: sapsapheadmugginstomfoolchumpgullmarkpatsyfall guysuckersoft touchmug

WordNet 3.0

Noun (3)

  1. a person who lacks good judgmentSynonyms: sapsapheadmugginstomfool
  2. a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage ofSynonyms: chumpgullmarkpatsyfall guysuckersoft touchmug
  3. a professional clown employed to entertain a king or nobleman in the Middle AgesSynonyms: jestermotley fool

Verb (4)

  1. make a fool or dupe ofSynonyms: gullbefool
  2. spend frivolously and unwisely“Fritter away one's inheritance”Synonyms: fritterfrivol awaydissipateshootfritter awayfool away
  3. fool or hoax“The immigrant was duped because he trusted everyone”“You can't fool me!”Synonyms: gulldupeslangbefoolcodput ontake input one overput one across
  4. indulge in horseplay“Enough horsing around--let's get back to work!”“The bored children were fooling about”Synonyms: horse aroundarse aroundfool around
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Fool \Fool\, n. [Cf. F. fouler to tread, crush. Cf. 1st Foil.] A compound of gooseberries scalded and crushed, with cream; -- commonly called gooseberry fool. [1913 Webster]
Fool \Fool\, n. [OE. fol, n. & adj., F. fol, fou, foolish, mad; a fool, prob. fr. L. follis a bellows, wind bag, an inflated ball; perh. akin to E. bellows. Cf. Folly, Follicle.]

1.One destitute of reason, or of the common powers of understanding; an idiot; a natural. [1913 Webster]

2.A person deficient in intellect; one who acts absurdly, or pursues a course contrary to the dictates of wisdom; one without judgment; a simpleton; a dolt. [1913 Webster]

Extol not riches, then, the toil of fools.— Milton.[1913 Webster]
Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.— Franklin.[1913 Webster]

3.(Script.) One who acts contrary to moral and religious wisdom; a wicked person. [1913 Webster]

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.— Ps. xiv. 1.[1913 Webster]

4.One who counterfeits folly; a professional jester or buffoon; a retainer formerly kept to make sport, dressed fantastically in motley, with ridiculous accouterments. [1913 Webster]

Can they think me . . . their fool or jester?— Milton.[1913 Webster]

April fool, Court fool, etc. See under April, Court, etc.

Fool's cap, a cap or hood to which bells were usually attached, formerly worn by professional jesters.

Fool's errand, an unreasonable, silly, profitless adventure or undertaking.

Fool's gold, iron or copper pyrites, resembling gold in color.

Fool's paradise, a name applied to a limbo (see under Limbo) popularly believed to be the region of vanity and nonsense. Hence, any foolish pleasure or condition of vain self-satistaction.

Fool's parsley (Bot.), an annual umbelliferous plant (Aethusa Cynapium) resembling parsley, but nauseous and poisonous.

To make a fool of, to render ridiculous; to outwit; to shame. [Colloq.]

To play the fool, to act foolishly; to act the buffoon; to act a foolish part. "I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly." --1 Sam. xxvi. 21. [1913 Webster]

Fool \Fool\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fooled; p. pr. & vb. n. Fooling.] To play the fool. [1913 Webster]

2.To waste time in unproductive activity; to spend time in idle sport or mirth; to trifle; to toy.

Syn: fool around. [PJC]

Is this a time for fooling?— Dryden.[1913 Webster]
Fool \Fool\, v. t.

1.To infatuate; to make foolish. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

For, fooled with hope, men favor the deceit.— Dryden.[1913 Webster]

2.To use as a fool; to deceive in a shameful or mortifying manner; to impose upon; to cheat by inspiring foolish confidence; as, to fool one out of his money. [1913 Webster]

You are fooled, discarded, and shook off By him for whom these shames ye underwent.— Shak.[1913 Webster]

To fool away, to get rid of foolishly; to spend in trifles, idleness, folly, or without advantage. [1913 Webster]

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

FOOL

Fool's Lisp. A small Scheme interpreter.

(ftp://scam.berkeley.edu/src/local/fools.tar.Z).

(1994-10-04)

The Jargon File

fool n.

As used by hackers, specifically describes a person who habitually reasons from obviously or demonstrably incorrect premises and cannot be persuaded by evidence to do otherwise; it is not generally used in its other senses, i.e., to describe a person with a native incapacity to reason correctly, or a clown. Indeed, in hackish experience many fools are capable of reasoning all too effectively in executing their errors. See also cretin, loser, fool file.

The Algol 68-R compiler used to initialize its storage to the character string "F00LF00LF00LF00L..." because as a pointer or as a floating point number it caused a crash, and as an integer or a character string it was very recognizable in a dump. Sadly, one day a very senior professor at Nottingham University wrote a program that called him a fool. He proceeded to demonstrate the correctness of this assertion by lobbying the university (not quite successfully) to forbid the use of Algol on its computers. See also DEADBEEF.

The Devil's Dictionary

FOOL, n. A person who pervades the domain of intellectual speculation and diffuses himself through the channels of moral activity. He is omnific, omniform, omnipercipient, omniscience, omnipotent. He it was who invented letters, printing, the railroad, the steamboat, the telegraph, the platitude and the circle of the sciences. He created patriotism and taught the nations war -- founded theology, philosophy, law, medicine and Chicago. He established monarchical and republican government. He is from everlasting to everlasting -- such as creation's dawn beheld he fooleth now. In the morning of time he sang upon primitive hills, and in the noonday of existence headed the procession of being. His grandmotherly hand was warmly tucked-in the set sun of civilization, and in the twilight he prepares Man's evening meal of milk-and-morality and turns down the covers of the universal grave. And after the rest of us shall have retired for the night of eternal oblivion he will sit up to write a history of human civilization.
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