Victorian & Edwardian · insult · noun
bounder
BOWN-derpronunciation given by a dictionary
First recorded1875
A man of vulgar or dishonourable behaviour who does not keep to the accepted rules of polite society — often a flashy social climber. Originally British university and society slang; earlier the word also meant a jolting four-wheeled cab.
Where it was first recorded
The Examiner, 18 December 1875 (earliest citation of the social sense in Green's Dictionary of Slang); Etymonline gives 1882.
Related: bounderish (adjective), bally bounder (set phrase)
In its own time
Anyone could see with half an eye that he was a regular bounder.
Today
Modern exampleHe borrowed my umbrella, my car and my girlfriend — an absolute bounder.
Fine to use today as a comic, old-fashioned British insult for a cad.
Originally carried class snobbery (a man 'out of bounds' socially); now used humorously.
Questions
What does bounder mean?
A man of vulgar or dishonourable behaviour who does not keep to the accepted rules of polite society — often a flashy social climber. Originally British university and society slang; earlier the word also meant a jolting four-wheeled cab.
When was bounder first used?
It is first recorded 1875 — The Examiner, 18 December 1875 (earliest citation of the social sense in Green's Dictionary of Slang); Etymonline gives 1882.
Can you still use bounder today?
Fine to use today as a comic, old-fashioned British insult for a cad.
Sources
- bounder — Online Etymology Dictionary
- bounder, n. — Green's Dictionary of Slang
- Slang and its Analogues, vol. I (1890), s.v. BOUNDER — J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley (archive.org)
- bounder — Merriam-Webster
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above