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The Etymology of “Nimrod”
Posted by Kevin

A while back, Kevin and I were discussing the term “nimrod,” and where it comes from. I seemed to recall Nimrod as having been a figure in Greek mythology or something like that, but could not recall anything that would associate the currently-understood meaning of “idiot.” After some brief research, I discovered that it was not Greek mythology, but the Bible that mentions Nimrod, in Genesis 10:8-9:

⁸ Cush was the father [1] of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. ⁹ He was a mighty hunter before the LORD ; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”

The Wikipedia confirms this:

Nimrod was a king of Assyria mentioned in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. According to Hebrew traditions, he was of Mizraim by mother but came from Cush son of Ham and expanded Asshur which he inherited. His name has become proverbial as that of a “mighty hunter.”
…snip…
Nimrod is credited with building the Tower of Babel in order to establish his own cult.

The only clue as to why he might be considered an idiot is the Tower of Babel reference, but it never explicitly says this. Getting desperate, I decided to simply check the dictionary:

nim·rod
n.

1. also Nimrod A hunter.

2. Informal. A person regarded as silly, foolish, or stupid.

[After Nimrod. Sense 2, probably from the phrase “poor little Nimrod,” used by the cartoon character Bugs Bunny to mock the hapless hunter Elmer Fudd.]

So let me get this straight: Bugs Bunny called Elmer Fudd a “poor little Nimrod” in a cartoon, using “Nimrod” sarcastically in the “mighty hunter” sense. Americans in large numbers missed the meaning, and just assumed that “Nimrod” must mean “an idiot.”

It was only at the end of my research that I discovered that Ask Yahoo! was already on this, and less than two weeks before I was:

The American Heritage Dictionary offers two distinct definitions of a nimrod — either a hunter, or a person regarded as silly or foolish. The dictionary goes on to explain that the second meaning probably originated with the cartoon character Bugs Bunny. The wily Bugs used the term in its original sense to refer to dithering hunter Elmer Fudd, whom he called a “poor little Nimrod.” Over time, however, the “hunter” meaning got dropped, and the “dithering” connotation stuck.

We owe Nimrod = Idiot to Bugs Bunny.

UPDATE: It turns out that Snarkout was on this over a year ago, and Apostropher was on it about a month ago. It’s apparently a Frequently-Asked Question in the blogosphere!

February 23rd, 2004 I do too have a life | 3 comments