Turkish pronunciation
gunSynonyms
box wine,
cask wine,
bozo,
bruiser,
dope,
gorilla,
hood,
hooligan,
jerk,
lummox,
moron,
nincompoop,
ninny,
sap,
strong-armPronunciation
/ˈgo͞on/ /ˈɡuːn/
Etymology
[ gün ] (noun.) 1921. Shortened from gooney, from obsolete gony ("simpleton", c.1580), of unknown origin. Gony was applied by sailors to the albatross and similar big, clumsy birds (c.1839). Goon first carried the meaning "stupid person" (c.1921).
* The meaning of "hired thug" (c.1938) is largely influenced by the comic strip character Alice the Goon from the Popeye series.
* The "fool" sense was reinforced by the popular radio program, The Goon Show, starring Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers.