fool 
II. a. Foolish; silly. [Obsolete or colloq.] 
Sibrlht, . . . that was &folc kyng. 
Langtoft, Chroii. (ed. Hearnc), p. 14. 
A fol womroan tho ert. Legend of St. Katheriite, p. 53. 
fool 1 (fdl), v. [< ME. folen, folien, < OF. foler, 
folier, foloier = Pr. foleiar = Olt. folleare, be 
foolish; from the noun.] I. in trans. 1. To play 
the fool ; act like a weak-minded or foolish per- 
son; potter aimlessly or mischievously; toy; 
trifle. 
Senieth thanue that folk fobjen and erren. 
Chaucer, lloethius, iii. prose 2. 
So faste they wejed to hym wyne, lilt warmed his hert, 
And breythed up in to his brayn and blemyst his mynde, 
And al waykned his wyt, and wel neje (nigh) liefoles. 
Alliterative Poemt (ed. Morris), iL 1420. 
Prithee, leave fooling ; 
I am in no humour now to fool and prattle. 
Flecker, Rule a Wife, iii. 5. 
I went to London, where I stayed till 5th March, study- 
Ing a little, but dancing and foolinj more. 
"Evelyn, Diary, Jan. 19, 1642. 
2. To play the buffoon ; act as a fool or jester. 
Hadst nothing but three sniU of apparel, and some few 
benevolences that the lords gave thee to/oo( to them. 
D. Jonion, Epicceue, iv. 2. 
TO fool With, to play, tamper, or meddle with foolishly. 
II. trans. 1. To make a fool of; expose to 
contempt ; disappoint ; deceive ; impose on. 
They/ooJ me to the top of my bent 
Shot., Hamlet, ill. 2. 
My conscience fools my wit ! 
B. Jonson, Volpone, ii. 3. 
No man should fool himself by disputing about the phi- 
losophy of justification. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 21. 
When I consider life, 'tis all a cheat, 
Yet, fooled with hope, men favour the deceit. 
Dryden, Aurengzebe, iv. 1. 
2. To make foolish; infatuate. 
If it be you that stir these daughters' hearts 
Against their father, fool me not so much 
To bear it tamely. Shall., Lear, ii. 4. 
3. To beguile ; cheat : as, to fool one out of his 
money. 
And such as come to be thus happily frighted into their 
wits, are not so easily fool'd out of them again. 
South, Works, IV. vi. 
To fool away, to spend to no advantage, or on objects 
of little or no value : as, to fool away time or opportunity ; 
to fool away money. 
Without much Delight or Grief, 
I fool away an idle Life. 
Prior, To Fleetwood Shephard. 
fool 2 (fol), n. [< ME. fole, prob. < OF. foulex, 
fole,folle, a pressing, treading, press, fulling- 
mill, < fouler, foler, F. fouler, press, tread, crush: 
see/opJ,/ttZ&] It. A light paste of flour and 
water, like pie-crust. 
Make a/ufc of doghe and close this fast. 
Liber Cure Cocorum (ed. Morris), p. 41. 
2. A sort of custard; a dish made of fruit 
crushed and scalded or stewed and mixed with 
whipped cream and sugar: as, gooseberry fool. 
Let anything come in the shape of fodder or eating- 
stuffe, it is wellcome, whether it be Sawsedge, or Custard, 
... or Flawne, or Foolr,. John Taylor, Great Eater (1610). 
Apple-tarts, fools, and strong cheese to keep down 
The steaming vapours from the parson's crown. 
Satyr against Hypocrite! (1689). 
Then came sweets, . . . some hot, some cool, 
Blancmange and quince-custards, and gooseberry fool, 
Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, II. 303. 
fool-beggedt (fdl'begd), a. [In ref. to to beg 
for a fool: see beg 1 .] Foolish. 
But if thou live to see like right bereft, 
This fool-begtj'd patience in thee will be left. 
Shak.,C. ofE.,ii. 1. 
fool-boldt (fol'bold), a. Foolishly bold; fool- 
hardy. 
Some in corners have been fool-bold. 
Ltland, Journey (enlarged by Bale), Sig. L. 3 b. 
fool-born (f61'b6rn), a. Begotten by or born of 
a fool. 
Reply not to me with a fool-born jest. 
Shale., 2 Hen. IV., v. 6. 
[The old editions read fool-borne, probably intended for 
fool-born, but taken by some to mean ' tolerated by a fool 
or by fools.'] 
fool-duck (fSl'duk), n. See duck*. 
foolery (fo'ler-i), . ; pi. fooleries (-iz). [< foofl 
+ -era.] 1. The habit of acting foolishly; ha- 
bitual folly ; attention to trifles. 
Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun ; it 
shines everywhere. Shak., T. N., iii. 1. 
How little giddiness, rant, and foolery do you see there ! 
R. Choatf, Addresses, p. 67. 
2. An act of folly; a trifling or senseless ac- 
tion. 
"To what request for what strange boon," he said, 
"Are these your pretty tricks &\\A fooleries'" 
Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien. 
2308 
3. A foolish performance; a farcical exhibition ; 
a mummery; c, farce. 
I went to London, invited to the solemn foolerie of the 
Prince de la Grange at Lincoln's Inn, where came the 
King, Duke, &c. Evelyn, Diary, Jan. 1, 1662. 
4. A foolish belief or practice ; anything based 
on fatuity. 
That Pythagoras, Plato, or Orpheus believed in any of 
these fooleries, it cannot be suspected. 
Raleigh, Hist. World. 
They have it at Court, as well as we here, that a fatal day 
is to be expected shortly, of some great mischief ; whether 
by the Papists, or what, they are not certain. But the 
day is disputed ; some say next Friday, others a day sooner, 
others later ; and I hope all will prove a foolery. 
Pepys, Diary, III. 6. 
fopl-fangle (fol'fang'gl), . A foolish fancy; a 
silly trifle. 
These Ape-headed pullets, which Invent Antique foole- 
fangles, meerly for fashion and novelty sake. 
JT. Ward, Simple Cobler, p. 30. 
fool-fish (fol 'fish), n. 1. A kind of plaice, 
Pleuronectes glaber : so called from the readi- 
ness with which it takes any bait. The mouth Is 
very small ; the teeth are chiefly confined to the blind or 
white side ; the scales are small ; and the color is grayish- 
brown mottled with darker and with blackish spot* on the 
fins. [Massachusetts, U. 8.) 
2. A balistoid fish. Monacanthiis his/ridus; the 
long-finned file-fish : so called from its method 
of swimming with a wriggling motion with its 
mouth upward, by means of undulations of its 
dorsal fin. It has a short compressed body, rough skin, 
and a single dorsal spine, and Is of a dull greenish or 
brownish color mottled with a darker shade. (Eastern 
coast of the United States.] 
fool-happyt (fol' hap *i), a. Lucky without 
judgment or contrivance. 
The Marriner yet halfe amazed stares 
At perlll past, and yet In doubt ne dares 
To joy at Mtfoolhappi* oversight 
Spenser, F. Q., I. vL 1. 
foolhardily (f6Thar'di-li), adv. [< ME. fool- 
hardili; < foolhardy + -ly?.] With foolhardi- 
ness. 
If I hadde doon ajens ray soul foolhardili. 
Wyclif, 2 Ki. [2 Sam.] xviii. 13 (Oxf.). 
Who, when they would not lend their helping hand to 
any man in engiue-worke, nor making of bulwarkes and 
fortifications, used foole-hardily to sallle forth and fight 
most courageously. Holland, tr. of Aramianus, p. 127. 
foolhardiness (fol'har'di-nes), n. [< ME. fool- 
hardinesse,folehardynesse; < foolhardy + -ness.] 
The quality of being foolhardy; courage with- 
out prudence or judgment ; senseless rashness. 
Haue I not striven with f ul greet strife, in olde tyme be- 
fore the age of my Plato, ayeins the foolhardines of foly? 
Chaucer, Boethius, i. 
Had rebel mxa'a fool-hardiness extended 
No farther than himself, and there had ended, 
It had been just. Quarles, Emblems, iii. 2. 
He delighted in out-of-door life ; he was venturesome 
almost tofoolhardinets, when he went to worship Nature 
in her most savage moods. Edinburgh Rev. 
foolhardiset (fol'har'dis), n. [< foolhardy + 
-we; formed by Spenser; cf. cowardice.] Fool- 
hardiness. 
More huge in strength then wise in workes he was, 
And reason with foole-hardize over ran. 
Spower.F. Q., II. 11.17. 
foolhardy (fol'har'di), a. [< ME. folhardy, 
folehardi, folherdi, < OF. fol hardi, foolishly 
bold: see/oo? 1 and hardy. Cf. fool-bold, foot- 
lar<je.~\ Bold without judgment or moderation ; 
foolishly rash and venturesome. 
Folhardy he ys ynou, ac al withoute rede [judgment]. 
Robert of Gloucester, p. 457. 
I find my tongue Is too fool-hardy ; but my heart hath 
the fear of Mars before it Shak., All's Well, iv. 1. 
Could you not cure one, sir, of being too rash 
And over-daring? there now 's my disease 
Fool-hardy, as they say ? 
Fletcher (and another), Love's Cure, iii. 2. 
= Syn. Adventurow, Enterpriting, Rath, etc. (see adven- 
turoiu); hot-headed, hare-brained. See rash. 
fool-hastyt (fol'has'ti), a. [< /oofl + Tiasty; 
after foolhardy.] Foolishly hasty. 
Anuilnl . . . rather made full reckning that he had 
caught (as it were) with a bait and fleshed the audacious- 
nesse of the foole-hastie consull and of the souldlers espe- 
cially. Holland, tr. of Livy, p. 458. 
fool-hen (fol'hen), n. A grouse, especially the 
young bird. See the extract. [Western U. S.] 
In the early part of the season the young [grouse], and 
indeed their parents also, are tame and unsuspicious to 
the very verge of stupidity, and at this time are often 
known by the name otjool-hen* among the frontiers-men. 
T. Roosevelt, Hunting Trips, p. 94. 
foolifyt (fo'li-fi), r. t. [< foofl + -i-fy, make: 
see -ft/.] To make a fool of ; befool. 
They, being throughly taught how with excessive flat- 
terie to bear him up, foolified and gulled the man. 
, 
aolland, tr. of Ammianus, p. 43. 
fool-killer 
fooling (fo'ling), n. [Verbal n. of /oofi, ;-.] 1. 
The speech or actions of one who fools or ban- 
ters another; jesting; banter; levity; frivol- 
ity; nonsense. 
In sooth, thou wast in very gracious fooling last night, 
when thou spokest of Pigrogromitus. Shak., T. N., ii. 3. 
Ah, there's no fooling with the Devil ! 
Cowleif, The Mistress, Dissembler. 
Such fooling, if not properly animadverted upon, and 
seasonably suppressed, may arrive to a greater heiuht, and 
be attended with very mischievous effects. 
Waterland, Works, IV. 295. 
2. Ridiculous or absurd behavior; foolery; idle, 
aimless, or meddlesome action. 
Crei. You shall not go : One cannot speak a word 
But it straight starts you. 
Dio. I do not like this foolinj. Shak., T. and C., v. 2. 
Will anyone dare to tell me that business is more enter- 
taining than fooling among boats ? 
R. L. Stevenson, Inland Voyage, p. 37. 
3. Playful actions; play; sport. 
A nt. 'Twa you we laugh'd at. 
(Jon. Who in this kind of merry fooling am nothing to 
yon : so you may continue, and laugh at nothing still. 
Shak., Tempest, 11. 1. 
Tol-de-rol 'gad, I should like to have a little fooling 
myself Tol-de-rol ! de-rol ! Sheridan, The Rivals, iv. 2. 
foolish (fo'lish), a. [</ooJi + -wftl. The old- 
er adjectives were fool and folly.] 1. Like a 
fool; manifesting folly; deficient in under- 
standing, sense, or discretion; weak in intel- 
lect or judgment; unwise. 
Now haud your tongues, ye foolith boys, 
For small sail be their part. 
Rote, the Red, and White Lilly (Child's Ballads, V. 175). 
A foolith man, which built his house upon the sand. 
Mat. vii. 26. 
Pray you now, forget and forgive : I am old and foolish. 
Shak., Lear. Iv. 7. 
2. Proceeding from or prompted by folly ; ex- 
hibiting a want of discretion or discrimination ; 
silly; vain; trifling. 
Foolith delights and fond abusions, 
Which doe thatsence besiege with light illusions. 
Spenser, F. Q., II. xi. 11. 
But foolith and unlearned questions avoid. 2 Tim. ii. 23. 
Here lies our sovereign lord the king, 
Whose word no man relies on ; 
He never says & foolith thing, 
Nor ever does a wie one. 
Earl of Rochester, Writteii on the Bedchamber Door of 
[Charles II. 
Whatever/ooKA notions the novelists may have instilled 
into our minds, woman is not all emotion. 
A'. A. Rev., CXXXIX. 408. 
3. Ridiculous; contemptible. 
A foolish figure he must make. Prior, Alma, 1. 
4. Denoting or indicative of folly. 
A foolith hanging of thy nether lip. 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., 11. 4. 
While wlt and Templars every sentence raise, 
And wonder with R foolith face of praise. 
Pope, Prol. to Satires, 1. 212. 
5t. Slight; insignificant. 
Nay, gentlemen, prepare not to be gone ; 
We have a trifling foolish banquet towards. 
Shak., R. and J., 1. 5. 
= Sjm. Silly, Foolithffee absurd) ; shallow, brainless, hare- 
brained, simple. 
foolishly (fo'lish-li), adv. In a foolish manner; 
without understanding or judgment; unwisely; 
indiscreetly. 
He that a fool doth very wisely hit 
Doth very foolishly, although he smart, 
Not to seem senseless of the bob. 
S/KJ*., As you Like It, U. 7. 
As foolishly ... as I 
Deal with the chess when I am drunk? 
William Harris, Earthly Paradise, III. 35. 
foolishness (fo'lish-nes), n. 1. The quality or 
condition of being foolish ; want of understand- 
ing; folly. 
Is virtue then, unless of Christian growth, 
Mere fallacy, or foolithness, or both ? 
Cowper, Truth, 1. 516. 
" Ugh ! " cried the Sun, and vizoring up a red 
And cipher face of rounded foolishness, 
Push'd horse across the foamings of the ford. 
Tennyson, Gareth and Lynette. 
2. A foolish practice ; an absurdity. 
The preaching of the cross is to them that perish fool- 
ishnett. 1 Cor. i. 18. 
=Syn. 1. Silliness, stupidity, imbecility, dullness, dolt- 
ishness, nonsense, absurdity, 
foolish-wittyt, a. Foolish in wisdom. 
And [she] sings extemporally a woeful ditty; 
How love makes young men thrall, and old men dote ; 
How love is wise in folly, foolish-witty. 
Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1. 838. 
fool-killer (fBl'kil'er), 11. An imaginary per- 
sonage invested with authority to put to death 
