entry
goon
/ɡuːn/thug, fool, or clumsy brute
From English (unknown origin) gony (simpleton).
Word Ancestry
A word can start life looking like a cartoon bruise. In 1921, Frederick J. Allen used goon for someone with a "heavy touch"—not nimble, not playful, the sort of person who seems to blunder into the room before their brain arrives. That may have come from gony, an older word for a simpleton that sailors also pinned on the albatross, the huge awkward bird of the sea. Once you’ve got a label for a big, lumbering fool, it’s only a short hop to a hired thug, a guard, or a comic-book brute. And that’s the fun of it: a word that may have begun with a clumsy bird ended up naming the human equivalent of one.
The Story
A word can start life looking like a cartoon bruise. In 1921, Frederick J. Allen used goon for someone with a "heavy touch"—not nimble, not playful, the sort of person who seems to blunder into the room before their brain arrives. That may have come from gony, an older word for a simpleton that sailors also pinned on the albatross, the huge awkward bird of the sea. Once you’ve got a label for a big, lumbering fool, it’s only a short hop to a hired thug, a guard, or a comic-book brute. And that’s the fun of it: a word that may have begun with a clumsy bird ended up naming the human equivalent of one.
Modern Usage
to masturbate obsessively; also an insulting term for an unruly or ridiculous person
Popularized by: online slang communities and Urban Dictionary usage
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries for 'goon' and 'gooning'
Kin & Kindred
From 'gony'·simpleton; stupid person
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary