An archaic or dialectal term for a foolish, silly, or contemptible person; a fool or simpleton.
Related to 'gump' (a foolish person) and similar dialectal insults. The suffix '-us' appears in both Latin-derived words and older English insult terms.
The family of foolish-person words in English is vast and delightfully creative—'gumpus,' 'gumpheon,' 'nincompoop,' and 'blockhead' each have their own regional and historical flavor.
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