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ker·fuf·fle

(kûr-fŭfəl)

n.
Informal

A to-do or fuss: "Among the oldest corpses from which readable DNA has been extracted is a Neanderthal man. Imagine the kerfuffle if somebody managed to clone him" (Richard Dawkins).

[Scots, variant of curfuffle : cur-, intensive pref. (from Scots Gaelic car, twist, turn about, from Old Irish cor, a turn; see sker-² in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + fuffle, put into disorder (of imitative origin).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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