The word “nincompoop” means a fool or a silly person. It is used to describe someone who acts dumb or makes foolish mistakes. “Nincompoop” first appeared in the 1670s. Early spellings included ...

The survey found 13 percent of respondents chose "nincompoop" – believed to be derived from the Latin "non compos mentis", meaning not of sound mind – as their favourite sounding English word, The ...