Fuddy
/ˈfʌd.i/noun
Informal British adjective meaning old-fashioned, fussy, or dull, usually appearing in “fuddy-duddy.”
Did you know?The word is chiefly preserved in “fuddy-duddy,” whose exact origin is uncertain; historical sources treat it as playful reduplication rather than a word with a known occult or magical root.
Etymological Timeline
19th Century
English
fuddy
“An informal term for an old-fashioned, fussy, or dull person; its origin is uncertain.”
1871
English
fuddy-duddy
“A recorded reduplicative expression for a person considered old-fashioned or excessively conventional.”
Late 19th Century
English
fuddy
“Used mainly as the shortened first element of “fuddy-duddy.””
Modern English
English
fuddy
“Informal British adjective meaning old-fashioned, fussy, or dull.”