English
foolhardy
Foolhardy comes from Old French fol hardi ‘foolishly bold’, and goes back to Latin follis ‘bellows’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfollis‘bellows’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fol‘foolish, silly’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400fol hardi‘foolishly bold’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500folehardy‘Marked by unthinking recklessness with disregard for danger’
- Englishearliest quotation 1876foolhardy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfollis‘bellows’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fol‘foolish, silly’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400fol hardi‘foolishly bold’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500folehardy‘Marked by unthinking recklessness with disregard for danger’
- Englishearliest quotation 1876foolhardy
Earliest quotation: 1876, Mark Twain pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne C, Hartford: “The master's pulse stood still, and he stared helplessly.…”
A compound of *bʰelǵʰ- ‘to swell’ + hardi ‘durable, hardy, tough’
Linked words
through Latin follis ‘bellows’
through Old French fol ‘foolish, silly’
Today it means
adj Marked by unthinking recklessness with disregard for danger; boldly rash; hotheaded.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin follis / foolhardy