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do·do

(dōdō)

n. pl. do·does or do·dos

1. A large flightless bird (Raphus cucullatus) with a hooked beak that inhabited the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean until it became extinct in the late 1600s.

2. Informal One who is out-of-date, as in dress or ideas.

3. Informal A stupid person; an idiot.

[Portuguese dodó, alteration of obsolete Dutch dodors : Dutch dot, tuft of feathers + obsolete Dutch ors, tail (from Middle Dutch ærs; see ors- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

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dodo

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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