Word Study
bugger
CIDE DICTIONARY
bugger, n. [F. bougre, fr. LL. Bulgarus, a Bulgarian, and also a heretic; because the inhabitants of Bulgaria were infected with heresy. Those guilty of the crime of buggery were called heretics, because in the eyes of their adversaries there was nothing more heinous than heresy, and it was therefore thought that the origin of such a vice could only be owing to heretics.].
- One guilty of buggery or unnatural vice; a sodomite. [1913 Webster]
- A wretch; -- sometimes used humorously or in playful disparagement. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
bugger, n., v., & int. coarse sl. (except in sense 2 of n. and 3 of v.)
Idiom
bugger about (or around) (often foll. by with)
1 mess about.
2 mislead; persecute. bugger-all nothing. bugger off (often in imper.) go away.
1 mess about.
2 mislead; persecute. bugger-all nothing. bugger off (often in imper.) go away.
Usage
Usually considered a taboo word.
--n.
1 a an unpleasant or awkward person or thing (the bugger won't fit). b a person of a specified kind (he's a miserable bugger; you clever bugger!).
2 a person who commits buggery.
--v.tr.
1 as an exclamation of annoyance (bugger the thing!).
2 (often foll. by up) Brit. a ruin; spoil (really buggered it up; no good, its buggered). b exhaust, tire out.
3 commit buggery with.
--int. expressing annoyance.
--n.
1 a an unpleasant or awkward person or thing (the bugger won't fit). b a person of a specified kind (he's a miserable bugger; you clever bugger!).
2 a person who commits buggery.
--v.tr.
1 as an exclamation of annoyance (bugger the thing!).
2 (often foll. by up) Brit. a ruin; spoil (really buggered it up; no good, its buggered). b exhaust, tire out.
3 commit buggery with.
--int. expressing annoyance.
Etymology
ME f. MDu. f. OF bougre, orig. 'heretic' f. med.L Bulgarus Bulgarian (member of the Greek Church)
THESAURUS
bugger
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