numps
numps noun: a fool; a blockhead.
Noun
numps (plural numpses)
- A fool; a blockhead.
- These are villainous engines indeed; but take heart, Numps! here is not a word of the stocks; and you need never stand in awe of any more honourable correction.1673, Samuel Parker, A Reproof to the Rehearsal Transprosed
- "You're a dizzard!" I retorted. "And a noodle and a jolt-head; you're a jobbernowl and a doodle, a maundering mooncalf and a blockheaded numps, a gaby and a loon; you're a Hatter!" I shrieked the last epithet.1902, John Kendrick Bangs, chapter 10, in Olympian Nights
Proper noun capitalized: Numps
Numps
- A diminutive of the male given name Humphrey.
- Humphrey Waspe:[…]And here is a Rogueis the baud o'the cutpurſes, whom I will beat to begin with. Cokes: Numps, Numps. Dame Overdoo: Good Mʳ Humphrey.1614 November 10 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Beniamin Iohnson [i.e., Ben Jonson], Bartholmew Fayre: A Comedie, […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Robert Allot, […], published 1631...
Forms of numps
| plural | numpses |
|---|---|
| alternative form | nump |
Origin of numps
Uncertain, probably from Numps, obsolete diminutive of Humphrey. Compare also numb and numpty.
From Humphrey, compare Ned and Nellie, respectively from Edward and Eleanor.
Questions about numps
- What does numps mean?
- Numps means a fool; a blockhead.
- What part of speech is numps?
- Numps can be a noun or a proper noun.
- What is the plural of numps?
- The plural of numps is numpses.
Words near numps in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: numps (page history and authors); Numps (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “numps.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/numps. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.