"put together clumsily or dishonestly," by 1771 (perhaps from 17c.); perhaps an alteration of fadge "make suit, fit" (1570s), a verb of unknown origin. The verb fudge later had an especial association with sailors and log books. The traditional story of the origin of the interjection fudge "lies! nonsense!" (1766; see fudge (n.2)) traces it to a sailor's retort to anything considered lies or nonsense, from Captain Fudge, "who always brought home his owners a good cargo of lies" [Isaac Disraeli, 1791, citing a pamphlet from 1700]. It seems there really was a late 17c. Captain Fudge, called "Lying Fudge," and perhaps his name reinforced this form of fadge in the sense of "contrive without the necessary materials." The surname is from Fuche, a pet form of the masc. proper name Fulcher, from Germanic and meaning literally "people-army."
fudge (n.1)
type of confection, 1895, American English, apparently a word first used among students at women's colleges; perhaps a special use from fudge (v.) or its noun derivative, via the notion of "insubstantial" or of something "faked-up" on the spot. The verb was used in school slang, and compare fudge (n.) "a made-up story" (1797).
'He lies,' answered Lord Etherington, 'so far as he pretends I know of such papers. I consider the whole story as froth — foam, fudge, or whatever is most unsubstantial. ...' [Scott, "St. Ronan's Well," 1823]
fudge (n.2)
"nonsense, rubbish," (1791), earlier and more usually as a contemptuous interjection, "lies! nonsense!" Probably a natural extension from fudge (v.) "put together clumsily or dishonestly," q.v. But Farmer suggests provincial French fuche, feuche, "an exclamation of contempt from Low German futsch = begone."
Trends of fudge
adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.
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parry1630s, "to turn aside or ward off" the blow of a weapon (transitive), from French parez! (a word which would have been heard often in fencing lessons), imperative of parer "ward off," from Italian parare "to ward or defend (a blow)" (see para- (2)). Related: Parried; parrying. No
dodge1560s, "go this way and that in speech or action," a sense now obsolete; from 1680s as "start suddenly aside, shift suddenly," as to evade a blow;" 1704 as "to move to and fro, shift about;" origin and sense evolution obscure. Perhaps it is from or akin to Scottish and Northern E
teachOld English tæcan (past tense tæhte, past participle tæht) "to show, point out, declare, demonstrate," also "to give instruction, train, assign, direct; warn; persuade," from Proto-Germanic *taikijan "to show" (source also of Old High German zihan, German zeihen "to accuse," Goth
candylate 13c., "crystallized sugar," from Old French çucre candi "sugar candy," ultimately from Arabic qandi, from Persian qand "cane sugar," probably from Sanskrit khanda "piece (of sugar)," perhaps from Dravidian (compare Tamil kantu "candy," kattu "to harden, condense"). The sense
skirtearly 14c. (mid-13c. as a surname), "lower part of a woman's dress," the part that hangs from the waist, from Old Norse skyrta "shirt, a kind of kirtle;" see shirt, which is from the Old English cognate, and from which it is not always distinguishable in early use. The sense deve
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divinityc. 1300, "science of divine things, theology;" late 14c., "quality or character of being divine," also "a divine being, God," from Old French devinité (12c.), from Latin divinitatem (nominative divinitas), from divinus "of a god," from divus "of or belonging to a god, inspired, p avoidlate 14c., "shun (someone), refrain from (something), have nothing to do with (an action, a scandal, etc.), escape, evade," from Anglo-French avoider "to clear out, withdraw (oneself)," partially Englished from Old French esvuidier "to empty out," from es- "out" (see ex-) + vuidi
updated on August 18, 2020
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FAQs
fudge (v.)
What is the origin of the word fudge? ›
The term fudge is said to have originated in the 17th century from the verb fadge and means "to fit together in a clumsy manner".
How to find the etymology of a word? ›
For the immediate ancestry of an English word, however, your first stop should be the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The recorded ancestors of an English word can usually be found within the entry for that word in the OED online [Harvard Key required] or in the print version of the OED (2nd ed., 1989).
What is the slang word fudge mean? ›
When fudge is a verb, it means to avoid straightforwardly answering a question or addressing a subject: "Just answer my question and don't fudge the issue!" Fudge is an American word from college slang meaning "a made-up story."
Where did the saying "fudging" come from? ›
The origin of the verb to fudge is lost in the mists of the 17th century: some say it derives from the archaic fadge, ''to agree'' or ''to fit pieces together''; others point to the chance of echoic variation of the German futsch, ''gone, ruined''; Isaac D'Israeli, Ben's father, speculated that fudge is an eponym of ...
What is the bad word for fudge? ›
Minced oaths are commonly formed by alteration of a curse word. It often alters the ending of the word, such as "darn" for "damn", or "fudge" for "f*ck".
What is the alternate meaning of fudge? ›
fudge (verb as in fake, misrepresent) Strongest matches. evade exaggerate falsify overstate.
Is etymonline reliable? ›
Reviews and reputation
The Online Etymology Dictionary has been referenced by Oxford University's "Arts and Humanities Community Resource" catalog as "an excellent tool for those seeking the origins of words" and cited in the Chicago Tribune as one of the "best resources for finding just the right word".
What is the best etymology dictionary? ›
Etymologies frequently show the root word in Latin, Greek, Old English, French, etc. The most famous etymological dictionary is the Oxford English Dictionary (known as the OED).
What is etymology in simple words? ›
Etymology is the study of the origins of words. The English language is living and growing. Although many of our words have been part of our language for many years, new words are added all the time.
The exact origin and inventor of this delicious confection are hotly debated. However, many believe the first batch of fudge was created by accident when American bakers “fudged” a batch of caramels. Hence the name “fudge.”
What is fudge technically? ›
Fudge is a dense, rich confection typically made with sugar, milk or cream, butter and chocolate or other flavorings. The base for fudge is boiled until it reaches the soft-ball stage (135 to 140 degrees F), then stirred or beaten as it cools to minimize the formation of sugar crystals.
What is fudge in britain? ›
Living in England, Scotland, Wales, and many US states. Author has 3.2K answers and 640.9K answer views. · 1y. As a noun, “fudge” is a soft solid sweet made from sugar and milk from which most of the liquid is evaporated off. As a verb, it is an informal way of saying perform something badly or clumsily.
Where did the word Flibbertigibbet come from? ›
Flibbertigibbet is one of many incarnations of the Middle English word flepergebet, meaning "gossip" or "chatterer" (others include flybbergybe, flibber de' Jibb, and flipperty-gibbet). It is a word of onomatopoeic origin, created from sounds that were intended to represent meaningless chatter.
Is fudge a real word? ›
verb (used with object)
, fudged, fudg·ing. to avoid coming to grips with (a subject, issue, etc.); evade; dodge: He fudged a few of the direct questions.
What is the fudge in law? ›
Fudge gives scope for the law in action to continue or change, without formally changing all of the law in the books. It does so by requiring the law in minds to pretend that something ambiguous or erroneous is correct.
What is the name fudge short for? ›
English (of Norman origin): from the Middle English, Anglo-Norman French personal name Fulch or Fuche, usually a pet form of Old French Fulcher, Fucher (see Fulcher ). Voicing of 'ch' to soft 'g' gave rise to Fudge.
Why does fudge mean lie? ›
The traditional story of the origin of the interjection fudge "lies! nonsense!" (1766; see fudge (n. 2)) traces it to a sailor's retort to anything considered lies or nonsense, from Captain Fudge, "who always brought home his owners a good cargo of lies" [Isaac Disraeli, 1791, citing a pamphlet from 1700].
How was fudge invented by mistake? ›
Fudge creation is often attributed to a happy accident in a confectionery experiment. The story goes that a batch of caramels went awry — “fudged,” in the parlance of the time — leading to the birth of this new sweet treat. This error resulted in the soft, creamy confection we now know as fudge.
