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Definition 2024

Nimrod

Nimrod

See also: nimrod

English

A Nimrod (biplane fighter), 1936
A decommissioned Nimrod (patrol aircraft) and a pony

Proper noun

Nimrod

  1. (biblical) A grandson of Ham; a mighty hunter and king of Shinar.
    • 1993, G. A. Rosso, Blake's Prophetic Workshop: A Study of The Four Zoas, page 80,
      Blake's depiction of the biblical Nimrod, whom Erdman traces to Young's poem, recalls Milton's Paradise Lost.
    • 2005, J. B. Segal, Edessa: The Blessed City, page 1,
      In the fourth century St. Ephraim the Syrian wrote, in his commentary on Genesis, that Nimrod 'ruled in Erekh which is Orhay (Edessa)'. […] In Jewish and thereafter in Moslem tradition, Nimrod was the foe of Abraham.
    • 2010, Khamit Raamah Kush, Faces of the Hamitic People, unnumbered page,
      The historical facts testify that they were highly developed; Nimrod, a descendant of Ham, therefore making him Hamitic, was the first human king not just of Bible record, but secular history also speaks of him. He ruled over a kingdom that included several cities in Mesopotamia.
  2. A British biplane fighter aircraft manufactured by Hawker Aircraft in the early 1930s.
  3. A British maritime patrol aircraft manufactured by Hawker Siddeley, in use from 1969 until 2011.

Related terms

  • Nimrodian adj
  • Nimrodic adj

Translations

Noun

Nimrod ‎(plural Nimrods)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of nimrod

nimrod

nimrod

See also: Nimrod

English

Noun

nimrod ‎(plural nimrods)

  1. (chiefly US, informal, pejorative) A silly or foolish person; An idiot.
    Don't stick your fingers in the fan, you nimrod!

Synonyms

References

  1. ↑ “Nimrod”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000
  2. ↑ Steinbeck, John (1962) Travels with Charley: In Search of America, 1997 edition, Penguin, ISBN 0-14-005320-4, page 45
  3. ↑ “Nimrod, n.”, in Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2007
  4. ↑ http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/nimrod-2016-02-17
  • nimrod at OneLook Dictionary Search

Etymology

In most English-speaking countries, Nimrod is used to denote a hunter or warrior, because the biblical Nimrod is described as "a mighty hunter". In American English, however, the term has assumed a derogatory meaning, probably because of Bugs Bunny's references to Elmer Fudd as a "poor little Nimrod".[1] While this was most likely using the term's "hunter" sense, it contributed to the development of a sense "one who was easily confounded".

An alternative explanation of this sense is that it derives from the John Steinbeck memoir Travels with Charley: In Search of America, in which Steinbeck used the term sarcastically while describing an inquest that was held after a hunter accidentally shot his partner: "The coroner questioning this nimrod..."[2]

The Oxford English Dictionary, in turn, cites a 1933 writing as the first usage of nimrod to refer to a fool, predating Bugs Bunny by at least five years and Steinbeck by nearly thirty: in Hecht and Fowler's Great Magoo, someone remarks "He's in love with her. That makes about the tenth. The same old Nimrod. Won't let her alone for a second."[3] However, this could still have been used in the sense of a hunter (i.e. someone pursuing a love interest).

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary suggests that because the legendary Nimrod was associated with the Tower of Babel, a disastrous idea, nimrod acquired the meaning of "a stupid person."[4]

Another possible source of the sense is the play "The Lion of the West" by James Paulding. First performed in 1831, it features a comedic characterization of Davy Crockett named Col. Nimrod Wildfire who attempts to woo a young French woman.

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