foolship

foolship

English

Etymology

From fool +‎ -ship.

Noun

foolship (usually uncountable, plural foolships)

1. The condition of being a fool; foolishness; folly
   • 1832, William Henry Ireland, Vortigern:

     Of old, your Fool did make your sage one tremble; but my foolship hath not found it so.

   • 1833, James Shirley, William Gifford, Alexander Dyce, The dramatic works and poems of James Shirley:

     The devil on your foolship! — Oh, I must walk the dark foggy way that spits fire and brimstone.

2. (often humorous) Used as a title or a form of address for a foolish person
   • 1895, History of Monetary Systems:

     To this Philip replied, “We give your Foolship to know that in temporals we are subject to no person.”

   • 1965, Douglas Grant, The Cock Lane Ghost:

     [...] But has only bamboozel'd by scratches and knocks / A set of old wives, silly peers, and mad bucks, / Who willing to try what their foolships could do / [...]

   • 1994, Elizabeth Winthrop, The Battle for the Castle:

     “Precisely. And no Sir about it, half-boy, half-man. Deegan will do. Or your foolship."

Anagrams

• fishpool, poolfish