fool

Etymology

From Middle English fole (“fool”), from Old French fol (cf. modern French fou (“mad”)) from Latin follis. Doublet of follis.

noun

1. (derogatory) A person with poor judgment or little intelligence.
   You were a fool to cross that busy road without looking.
   The village fool threw his own shoes down the well.
   If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken ⁠Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools 1895, Rudyard Kipling, If—
   You're just a poor misguided fool Who thinks they know what I should do A line for me and a line for you I lose my right to a point of view. 2001, Starsailor (lyrics and music), “Poor Misguided Fool”
   And every time I'm meant to be acting sensible You drift into my head And turn me into a crumbling fool. 2008, Adele, Crazy for You
   I like that you're broken Broken like me Maybe that makes me a fool 13 April 2017, Mitchy Collins, Samantha Derosa, Christian Medice, “Broken”, in Finding It Hard to Smile, performed by Lovelytheband
2. (historical) A jester; a person whose role was to entertain a sovereign and the court (or lower personages).
   1896, Frederick Peterson IN Popular Science Monthly Volume 50 December 1896 , Idiots Savants This court fool could say bright things on occasion, but his main use to the ladies and lords of the palace was to serve as victim to practical jokes, cruel, coarse, and vulgar enough to be appreciated perhaps in the Bowery.
3. (literature) A stock character typified by unintelligence, naïveté or lucklessness, usually as a form of comic relief; often used as a source of insight or pathos for the audience, as such characters are generally less bound by social expectations.
4. (informal) Someone who derives pleasure from something specified.
   I'm a fool for the city. 1975, Foghat, "Fool for the City" (song), Fool for the City (album)
5. (slang, chiefly African-American Vernacular) Buddy, dude, man.
   Upon opening the door, Trech was suddenly drawn aback by the shocking presence of the armed goon standing directly in front of him. “Yo, what up fool? […]” 2010, G.C. Deuce, From the Gutter to the Grave: An American Hood Novel, Xlibris Corporation, page 291
   “What up, fool?” he finally responded. “Not too much; fell asleep watching your boys get their asses kicked,” I told him, referring to the Carolina Cougars, the last team he played for before he got sick. 2012, Peron Long, Livin' Ain't Easy, Urban Books
   Fame leaves out the house and walks to the BP gas station on Alabama Avenue. On the way there he sees his man Mark posted up at the rec center and walks over to holla at him. “What’s up fool?” Mark says while dapping Fame up. 2014, Hitta Lo, Bracing Season I, Kaleidoscopic Publishing
   “What up fool?” Lil Slim said noticing the seriousness in Lil Kilo’s voice. “You ain’t switched up on us have you.” Lil Fresh looked at Lil Kilo like where that come from. “Nigga I’ll neva switch up.” Lil Slim said feeling a little offended. 2018, Keith L. Bell, Drought Season Over: The Sequel, Xlibris Corporation
6. (cooking) A type of dessert made of puréed fruit and custard or cream.
   Coordinate term: mess
   an apricot fool; a gooseberry fool
   Eton is renowned for its "messes," and "strawberry mess" is Empress of them all, with raspberry mess as a very good second. It does not at all convey the joys of a "mess" to say that it consists of iced fruit and cream, and somewhat resembles a "fool." It is a thing apart, and should be approached with bated breath and unimpaired capacity. 1913, Pearson's Magazine, volume 36, part 2, page 373
   Pellaprat … invented the dish [of Eton mess] when a load of over-ripe strawberries needed eating up. His disguise was a fluff of whipped cream and the fool was served with sponge fingers. Somewhere along the line, someone else had the idea of stirring chunks of meringue into the fool at the last moment. 2014, Lindsey Bareham, Just One Pot
7. (tarot, often capitalized Fool) A particular card in a tarot deck, representing a jester.

verb

1. To trick; to deceive.
   She bit it gently and found that it resembled a worm in no way whatsoever as to taste although because it was long and slender, a Little Red Hen might easily be fooled by its appearance. 1918, Florence White Williams, The Little Red Hen
   There appears to be no process of gradually fooling oneself while degrading standards so characteristic of the Solid Rocket Booster or Space Shuttle Main Engine safety systems. June 6, 1986, Richard Feynman, “Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle”, in Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, Report to the President
   Liara: Do not be fooled by these civilized surroundings. This is a place of secrets and lies. 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Noveria
2. To act in an idiotic manner; to act foolishly.
   1681/1682, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar Is this a time for fooling?
   She's always complaining that she got stuck with the worst possible committee. And that me and Jimmy fool more than we work. 1972, Judy Blume, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, page 56
3. (archaic) To make a fool of; to make act the fool.
   They fool me to the top of my bent. c. 1599 to 1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, III.ii.384

adj

1. (informal) Foolish.
   Of all the fool, fruitless jobs, making anything of a creature that begins by deceiving her, is the foolest a sane woman ever undertook. 1909, Gene Stratton-Porter, A Girl of the Limberlost
   That was a fool thing to do. You could have gotten yourself shot 2011, Gayle Kaye, Sheriff Takes a Bride