*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of foo

From Mandarin 府 (fǔ).

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 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

Alternative form of fu: an administrative subdivision of imperial China; the capital of such divisions.

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

From Mandarin 府 (fǔ).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Derivation mention府cmn
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cmn",
        "3": "府",
        "tr": "fǔ"
      },
      "expansion": "Mandarin 府 (fǔ)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "府",
      "府#Mandarin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of fu: an administrative subdivision of imperial China; the capital of such divisions."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "historical",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "f08be4df7d6d7e53d248ebb8f67e5c307f9073373c5b3865a16ed11c4dcee0fc",
      "rawRecordSha256": "6ca14f2c6668cf56cd1d8f2ae0e5ea5827ab5ab228de9dc822dfe4561720037e",
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    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A metasyntactic variable used to represent an unspecified entity. If part of a series of such entities, it is often the first in the series, and followed immediately by bar. · Alternative letter-case form of Foo (“placeholder god”).

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

From Chinese 福 (fú, “fortunate; prosperity, good luck”), via its use as 福星 (Fúxīng, “Jupiter”) in Chinese statues of the Three Lucky Stars, picked up from c. 1935 as a nonsense word in Bill Holman's Smokey Stover comic strip, whence it was picked up by Pogo, Looney Tunes, and others. Used by Jack Speer as the name of a mock god of mimeography in the 1930s. Popularized in computing contexts by the Tech Model Railroad Club's 1959 Dictionary of the TMRC Language, which incorporated it into a parody of the Buddhist chant om mani padme hum, possibly under the influence of WWII military slang FUBAR, which had been repopularized by Joseph Heller's Catch-22.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Derivation mention福zh
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {},
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "zh",
        "3": "福",
        "4": "",
        "5": "fortunate; prosperity, good luck",
        "tr": "fú"
      },
      "expansion": "Chinese 福 (fú, “fortunate; prosperity, good luck”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "福",
      "福#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "福星",
      "福星#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "mimeography",
      "mimeography"
    ],
    [
      "om mani padme hum",
      "om mani padme hum#English"
    ],
    [
      "FUBAR",
      "FUBAR#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A metasyntactic variable used to represent an unspecified entity. If part of a series of such entities, it is often the first in the series, and followed immediately by bar.",
        "Alternative letter-case form of Foo (“placeholder god”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "alt-of",
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "03535ebcd23645b3bf4aa06b8cf4c4d603cf143a1d628431ba082a02a2f4db45",
      "rawRecordSha256": "40d0ba31f398f067e96d54c0cbfac392fbddf61fc63de5cbffd337a00bf650e5",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 167625
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
intj

Expression of disappointment or disgust.

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

A minced form of fuck.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "minced",
      "minced oath"
    ],
    [
      "fuck",
      "fuck#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "intj",
      "glosses": [
        "Expression of disappointment or disgust."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "381bd2208806507d66ffb4d253d192f1f5ee7910a14bb61a02d792ebf11bda99",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e1cbe9662661bca63fc9fb5ee527df37aa4e27a6e1db8c04ebe7ef2a5967c31a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 167626
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "descendants": 0,
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 foo →

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-Zm9v