curmudgeon
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
curmudgeon
- /kɜːˈmʌdʒ.ən/ UK
- /kɚˈmʌd͡ʒ.ən/ US
Rhymes with -ʌdʒən
Where it comes from
Numerous folk etymologies exist for this word.
An alternative spelling attested in 1600 is cornmudgin, in Holland's translation of Livy, rendering Latin frūmentārius (“corn-merchant”). This has been suggested as the original form of the word, but OED notes that curmudgeon is attested some years before this, concluding that cornmudgin was merely a nonce-word by Holland.
The word is attested from the late 1500s in the forms curmudgeon and curmudgen, and during the 17th century in numerous spelling variants, including cormogeon, cormogion, cormoggian, cormudgeon, curmudgion, curmuggion, curmudgin, curr-mudgin, curre-megient.
noun curmudgeons
-
An ill-tempered person full of stubborn ideas or opinions, often an older man.
Near-synonyms: crank, grump; grumpy pants (often childish), sourpuss, grouch
Similar: crank, grump, grumpy pants[w:child-directed speech|childish]]>, sourpuss, grouch
- A miser.
Translations
Every language
noun an ill-tempered stubborn person
| Español | testarudo, cascarrabias |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 꼰대 kkondae |
| 日本語 | 意地の悪い人 ijinowarui hito |
| Português | rabugento, casmurro, caturra |
| Français | bourru, baderne, ganache, rombière |
| Deutsch | Griesgram, Miesepeter, Spielverderber |
| Italiano | burbero, musone |
| Русский | грубия́н grubiján, грубия́нка grubijánka, старый ворчун staryj |
Talk about this word "curmudgeon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/curmudgeon. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. curmudgeon. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/curmudgeon "curmudgeon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/curmudgeon.Cite this
@misc{curmudgeon_2026,
title = {curmudgeon},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/curmudgeon},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
