OAF

[Dr. Goodword]

• oaf •

Pronunciation: owf • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: A clumsy, awkward person who is not very bright.

Notes: Most speakers have given up on the plural oaves with this noun, even those who still say loaf - loaves. We rather like it but oafs seems to be the winner here. The adjective, oafish, still stands, as do the adverb, oafishly, and the noun, oafishness.

In Play: Smart people can be awkward but to be an oaf you must be both awkward and a bit dimwitted: "Tutwiler, the clumsy oaf, tied his shoestrings together this morning and nearly tumbled down the stairs." China shops are obvious places oafs need to avoid: "I wouldn't want to take that oaf Tutwiler to a china shop without at least two credit cards in my purse."

Word History: Did you ever wonder what happened to the root alb- "white" that we find in albino and albumin (egg white) in the Germanic languages? In English it became elf but in Old Norse it turned into alfr "elf", which English borrowed during one of the Norsemen's uninvited visits in the Middle Ages. This left English with a problem, what to do with elf. Well, they decided to keep elf as it was but they honed alfr into today's Good word. It would seem that both these words come from an ancient Germanic word albaz or albiz, meaning a white ghost or spirit.

[melissa]

Well elves to me were the white invaders of the isles, but Alfred might have meant that he listened to them. And Oaves or Oavish sound less annoying to me than well calling me an oaf.

[sluggo]

... Oaves or Oavish sound less annoying to me than well calling me an oaf.

I love the sound of oaves and will now be scanning for impish opportunities to employ. Spellcheck flags it, another plus.

Seems to me this word generally fits males far more often than females; at least it seems used that way.
Maybe we're just more suited to it.

[gailr]

Seems to me this word generally fits males far more often than females; at least it seems used that way.
Maybe we're just more suited to it.

The condition is not gender-specific, but the word...is.


Rigid beliefs and limited education often multiplies the oaves and vicious...

[Bailey]

Oh, I dunno, there are some 6 foot 13 yr. old girls who definately qualify, at least in the physical department, and that giggling, OMG like also in the emotional/mental arena.

mB

[gailr]

Word History: Did you ever wonder what happened to the root alb- "white" that we find in albino and albumin (egg white) in the Germanic languages? In English it became elf but in Old Norse it turned into alfr "elf", which English borrowed during one of the Norsemen's uninvited visits in the Middle Ages. This left English with a problem, what to do with elf. ...

Here's some hot-off-the-press elf news from Colorado:
Elves have not left the building

For example, “Albtraum” is a German word for nightmare, which also means “elf dream.” Earlier, the word meant “elf pressure,” as it was believed that nightmares are a result of an elf sitting on the dreamer’s head (I have that, but it’s usually just my cat).

There is also a bit of silliness over names as well as a mystery cleared up regarding sausages.

-gailr
still avoiding the mushrooms...