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Origin and history of fooling

fooling(n.)

c. 1600, verbal noun from fool (v.).

also from c. 1600

Entries linking to fooling

fool(v.)

mid-14c., "to be foolish, act the fool," from fool (n.1). The transitive meaning "make a fool of" is recorded from 1590s. Sense of "beguile, cheat" is from 1640s. Also as a verb 16c.-17c. was foolify. Related: Fooled; fooling. Fool around is 1875 in the sense of "pass time idly," 1970s in sense of "have sexual adventures."

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    casual
    late 14c., casuel, "subject to or produced by chance," from Old French casuel (15c.), from Late Latin casualis "by chance," from Latin casus "chance, occasion, opportunity; accident, event" (see case (n.1)). Of persons, in the sense of "not to be depended on, unmethodical," it is
    camouflage
    Camouflage is the new word, and it means "fooling the enemy." [Popular Science Monthly, August 1917]...
    shuck
    The phrase shucking and jiving "fooling, deceiving" is suggested from 1966, in African-American vernacular, but compare shuck...
    fritter
    "whittle away, waste bit by bit, spend on trifles," 1728, probably from noun fritter "fragment or shred" (though this is recorded later), perhaps an alteration of 16c. fitters "fragments or pieces," which is perhaps ultimately from Old French fraiture "a breaking," from Latin fra
    squander
    1580s (squandering, Nashe), "to spend recklessly or prodigiously, use without judgment or economy," of unknown origin; Shakespeare used it in "Merchant of Venice" (1593) with a sense of "to be scattered over a wide area." Related: Squandered; squanderer. Squander-bug, a British s
    cod
    large sea fish, edible and widely distributed in colder seas, mid-14c. (late 13c. in a surname, Thomas cotfich), of unknown origin; despite similarity of form it has no conclusive connection to the widespread Germanic word for "bag" (represented by Old English codd, preserved in
    delude
    "deceive, impose upon, mislead the mind or judgment of," c. 1400, from Latin deludere "to play false; to mock, deceive," from de- "down, to one's detriment" (see de-) + ludere "to play" (see ludicrous). Related: Deluded; deluding. Mislead means to lead wrong, whether with or wit
    kid
    c. 1200, "the young of a goat," from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse kið "young goat," from Proto-Germanic *kidjom (source also of Old High German kizzi, German kitze, Danish and Swedish kid), a word of uncertain origin. The extended meaning "child" is recorded as slang b
    play
    Middle English pleien, from Old English plegan, plegian "move lightly and quickly, occupy or busy oneself, amuse oneself; engage in active exercise; frolic; engage in children's play; make sport of, mock; perform music." It is from Proto-West Germanic *plegōjanan "occupy oneself
    gull
    shore bird, early 15c. (in a cook book), probably from Brythonic Celtic; compare Welsh gwylan "gull," Cornish guilan, Breton goelann; all from Old Celtic *voilenno-. Replaced Old English mæw (see mew (n.1))....cant term for "dupe, sucker, credulous person," 1590s, of uncertain or

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