Wiktionary

fuss

See also: Fuss, fúss, and Fuß

English

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Etymology

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Of unknown origin. Perhaps from Danish fjas (“nonsense”),[1] from Middle Low German (compare German faseln (“to maunder, talk nonsense”)).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /fʌs/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌs

Noun

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fuss (countable and uncountable, plural fusses)

  1. (countable or uncountable) Excessive activity, worry, bother, or talk about something.
    They made a big fuss about the wedding plans.
    What's all the fuss about?
    • 1866 (date written), Thomas Carlyle, “Jane Welsh Carlyle”, in James Anthony Froude, editor, Reminiscences, volume II, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1881, →OCLC, page 158:
      Sickness did not last above a ten days; my poor wife zealously assiduous, and with a minimum of fuss or noise.
    • 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 1, in Death on the Centre Court:
      “Anthea hasn't a notion in her head but to vamp a lot of silly mugwumps. She's set her heart on that tennis bloke […] whom the papers are making such a fuss about.”
    • 2018 January 25, Amelia Gentleman, “Men-only clubs and menace: how the establishment maintains male power”, in the Guardian‎[1]:
      But in the reader comments section beneath the FT piece, many couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. “I’m surprised to see the FT reporting this sort of thing,” one person wrote.
  2. A complaint or noise; a scene.
    If you make enough of a fuss about the problem, maybe they'll fix it for you.
  3. An exhibition of affection or admiration.
    They made a great fuss over the new baby.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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fuss (third-person singular simple present fusses, present participle fussing, simple past and past participle fussed)

  1. (intransitive) To be very worried or excited about something, often too much.
    • 1984 December 29, Duncan Mitchel, “The Cult of Gay Machismo”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 25, page 9:
      Dear reader, spare me. I don't hate men, I love them; I eat 'em for breakfast. But it seems to me that fussing about masculinity is intimately related to homophobia.
    His grandmother will never quit fussing over his vegetarianism.
  2. (intransitive) To fiddle; fidget; wiggle, or adjust
    Quit fussing with your hair. It looks fine.
  3. (transitive) To disturb (a person)
  4. (intransitive, US, especially of babies) To cry or be ill-humoured.
  5. (intransitive, with over) To show affection for, especially animals.
  6. (transitive) To pet.
    He fussed the cat.

Usage notes

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “fuss”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

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Hungarian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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fut (“to run”) +‎ -j (personal suffix)

Pronunciation

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Verb

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fuss

  1. second-person singular subjunctive present indefinite of fut

Icelandic

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Interjection

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fuss

  1. pshaw!, pht!, used to indicate disapproval or scoffery
    Synonyms: svei, iss, uss, fussum svei
    Fuss! Meiri vitleysan! ― Pht! What poppycock!

Derived terms

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  • fussa (“turn your nose up at something”)
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