Etymology

kerfuffle

K5E1R1F4U1F4F4L1E1

Today it means: A disorderly outburst, disturbance, commotion, or tumult. Full definition →

Scots curfuffle
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The story

  1. Scots · derived fromcurfuffle
  2. English todaykerfuffle

Probably from Scots curfuffle, equivalent to ker- + fuffle, or related to Irish cíor thuathail (“confusion, bewilderment”). Similar to modern Welsh cythrwfl (“uproar, trouble, agitation”)

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.