English word origin

Etymology of bobo

Blend of bourgeois + bohemian, popularized by American journalist, commentator and editor David Brooks to describe the 1990s equivalent of the yuppie.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A materialistic person who affects an anti-materialistic persona. · A self-styled bodyguard or groupie of the nouveau riche (such as a professional athlete or musician). · An imitation of something, particularly a well known product, usually lower in quality than the original.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Blend of bourgeois + bohemian, popularized by American journalist, commentator and editor David Brooks to describe the 1990s equivalent of the yuppie.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Blend componentbourgeoisen
Blend componentbohemianen

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "bourgeois",
        "3": "bohemian"
      },
      "expansion": "Blend of bourgeois + bohemian"
    },
    {
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      "args": {
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        "2": "Q938475",
        "nobycat": "1",
        "notext": "1"
      },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "bourgeois#English"
    ],
    [
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      "bohemian#English"
    ],
    [
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      "yuppie#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A materialistic person who affects an anti-materialistic persona.",
        "A self-styled bodyguard or groupie of the nouveau riche (such as a professional athlete or musician).",
        "An imitation of something, particularly a well known product, usually lower in quality than the original."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A boo-boo (a minor injury).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from French bobo (“boo-boo”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionbobofr

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
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    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "bobo",
        "4": "",
        "5": "boo-boo"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from French bobo (“boo-boo”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bobo",
      "bobo#French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A boo-boo (a minor injury)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Louisiana",
        "Montreal"
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for bobo →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-Ym9ibw