Tudor & Stuart · insult · noun
Curmudgeon
ker-MUJ-un /kɜːˈmʌdʒ.ən/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recorded1568
At first a grasping, churlish miser; today a bad-tempered, stubborn person, usually an older man. Its origin is unknown; the old 'coeur méchant' (wicked heart) and 'corn merchant' explanations are rejected.
Where it was first recorded
Thomas Drant, translation of Gregory of Nazianzus (1568), per Etymonline ('a bolde curmogine chuffe')
Also spelled: curmudgen, cormogeon, cormogion, curmuggion, curmudgin, curre-megient
In its own time
Our English Cormogeons, they haue breasts, but giue no suck.
Today
Modern exampleThe old curmudgeon next door grumbles about the noise, then sneaks the children sweets.
Fine to use; now a mild, even affectionate word for a grump.
Questions
What does curmudgeon mean?
At first a grasping, churlish miser; today a bad-tempered, stubborn person, usually an older man. Its origin is unknown; the old 'coeur méchant' (wicked heart) and 'corn merchant' explanations are rejected.
When was curmudgeon first used?
It is first recorded 1568 — Thomas Drant, translation of Gregory of Nazianzus (1568), per Etymonline ('a bolde curmogine chuffe').
Can you still use curmudgeon today?
Fine to use; now a mild, even affectionate word for a grump.
Sources
- curmudgeon — Online Etymology Dictionary
- Curmudgeon — Murray's New English Dictionary (OED1), via WEHD
- curmudgeon — Merriam-Webster
- Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 ed.) — Francis Grose (Project Gutenberg #5402)
- curmudgeon — Wiktionary
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above