Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definition: Humpty Dumpty |
Humpty DumptyNoun1. An egg-shaped character in a nursery rhyme who fell off a wall and could not be put back together again (late 17th century). Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definitions |
Literature | Humpty Dumpty An egg, a little deformed dwarf. Dumpty is a corruption of dumpy (short and thick). A dump is a piece of lead used in chuck-farthing. Humpty is having a hump or hunch. The two mean short, thick, and round-shouldered. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Slang in 1811 | HUMPTY DUMPTY. A little humpty dumpty man or woman; a short clumsy person of either sex: also ale boiled with brandy. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall Humpty Dumpty had a great fall All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again
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| Humpty Dumpty |
There are various theories of the origin of Humpty Dumpty. One is from the name of a cannon during the English Civil War. It was on top of a tower. When the opposing force blew off the top of the tower, Humpty Dumpty fell to the ground. The King's (since they were on the Royalist side) footmen and cavalry tried to fix him, but failed.
In another theory, Humpty Dumpty referred to King Richard III of England, the hunchbacked monarch, whose horse was named "Wall". During the battle of Bosworth Field, He fell off of his steed and was said to have been "hacked into pieces".
(However, although Shakespeare's play depicts Richard as a hunchback, other historical evidence suggests that he was not.)
Humpty Dumpty may also refer to a Roman war machine called a Testudo used to cross moats and climb over castle walls. Humpty Dumpty refers to the turtle-like look of the machine and the noise of the wheels.
Another theory has Humpty Dumpty as medieval argot for short maladroits.
External link:
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Humpty Dumpty."
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | Greedy Humpty Dumpty (1936) Humpty Dumpty (1935) Scenes from Humpty Dumpty (1903) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
![]() | Modern Humpty Dumpty / Dunning. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | "Gentlemen, we simply must put Humpty Dumpty together again!". Credit: Library of Congress. |
![]() | Abbey's Humpty Dumpty. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | G.L. Fox the original Humpty Dumpty. Credit: Library of Congress. |
![]() | The celebrated Spanish Students with Abbey's Humpty Dumpty Combination. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | Strange adventures in The fall and rise of Humpty Dumpty. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Lewis Carroll | When I use a word,'' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone,'' it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Through the Looking-Glass | Carroll, Lewis | Humpty Dumpty looked doubtful. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
humpty dumpty | 184 |
humpty dumpty picture | 26 |
humpty dumpty nursery rhyme | 11 |
humpty dumpty magazine | 10 |
humpty dumpty potato chip | 10 |
humpty dumpty chip | 8 |
humpty dumpty story | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "Humpty Dumpty"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | شىء مستحيل إصلاحه. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | тантурко, дундьо (dumpling, dumpy, pudge). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | oblíbená postava v pantomimì. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | chose impossible réparer. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | ביצן. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | köpcös emberke. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | umptyhay umptyday corcunda (bump, bunchy, crook-back, gibbous, hump, hunchback, hundred). (various references) низенький толстяк (humpty-dumpty). (various references) toplo pivo s rakijom, mali debeljuca, ćuftast, ćufta (beefburger, meatball). (various references) tjockis (fat-guts, fatso, fatty, pudge, roly poly). (various references) kırılınca tamir edilemeyen şey, bodur ve şişko tip. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)48 75 6D 70 74 79      44 75 6D 70 74 79 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01001000 01110101 01101101 01110000 01110100 01111001 00100000 01000100 01110101 01101101 01110000 01110100 01111001 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)H u m p t y   D u m p t y |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0048 0075 006D 0070 0074 0079      0044 0075 006D 0070 0074 0079 |
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)4287798286912388779828691 |
| 1. Definition 2. Usage: Modern 3. Usage: Commercial 4. Images: Slideshow | 5. Images: Photo Album 6. Quotations: Familiar 7. Quotations: Fiction 8. Expressions: Internet | 9. Translations: Modern 10. Orthography 11. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
| Note to the press & webmasters - this dictionary can be linked, indexed, or referred to using the following non-English expressions: woordeboek, fjalor, معجم, قاموس, diccionariu, речник, diccionari, diksyonario, diksinario, 字典, gérlyver, slovník, ordbog, woordenboek, shimiyuc p'anca, orðabók, orðbók, dictionnaire, wurdboek, wörterbuch, λεξικό, אוצר מילים, szótár, uqausiit tukingit, dizionario, 字引 , じい, じびき, じて", ディクショナリー , じり", じしょ, '"かい, ディクショナリ , 사 , dizionari, recnik, fockleyr, dikshonario, słownik, dicionário, dicţionar, dicziunari, словарь, lolomi fefiloi, foclair, abardair, faclair, briathrachan, pukuntau, leksikon, rečnik, vocabbulariu, diccionario, sí-chazamagâma, ordbok, lexikon, พจนานุกรม, sözlük, ansiklopedik sözlük, словник, довідник, có tính chất sách vở, geirlyfr, geiriadur, for dictionary; definisie, qartësi, përcaktim, saktësi, الوضوحية في الشيء, حد, تحديد, تعريف, التحديد, الإيضاحية, яснота, сила, очертания, дефиниция, 定義 , 定义, definice, deskriptordefinition, definitie, määritelmä, définition, ορισμός, "'"ר", "'בל", meghatározás, definíció, definizione, 確定 , ディーゼル電気車 , デ'ドロ酢酸 , デフィニション , ディフィニション , ていぎ, かくてい, 의, geyrid, meenaghey, keeayllaght, baght, definishon, definição, definiţie, determinare, definire, определение, definicija, definición, definition, açıklama, belirleme, belirtme, kesinleştirme, tanım, tarif, seçiklik, tanımlama, чіткість, тлумачення, виразність, визначення, дефініція, ясність, чітка чутність, sự định rõ, sự định nghĩa, lời định nghĩa sự định, diffiniad, darnodiad, for definition; vertaling, transferim, transmetim, ترجمة من لغة أجنبية للغة الأم, ترجمة, إفتتان, транслация, огъване, превод, предаване, поддаване, тълкуване, превеждане, 翻译, překlad, oversættelse, translatie, taajuusmuutos, translaatio, traduction, oersetting, Übersetzung, μετάφραση, תור'מ ות, תר'ום, "עתק", "עתק, fordítás, traduzione, 翻訳 , へい"ういどう, やくしょ, やくしゅつ, "うどく, ほ"やく, トランスレーション , やくじゅつ, ほ"やくしょ, 번역, tradukshon, tradução, translaţie, tãlmãcire, traducere, сдвиг, трансляция, перемещение, перевод, tumačenje, traducción, översättning, tercüme, процес перекладу, переклад, пояснення, переміщення, sự dịch, sự biến th nh sự giải thích, trosiad, for translation; Arabies, arabishte, العربية, عربي, اللغة العربية, арабски език, арабски, 阿拉伯 , arabský, arabština, arábiskt, arabialainen, arabe, Arabysk, arabisch, αραβικόσ, ערבית, ערבי, arab, arabo, 아라비아, Arabish, arabir, arabic, арабский, Arapi, arapski, árabe, arabisk, าษาหรืออักขระอาหรับ, เกี่ยวกับอาระเบีย, arapça, arap, araplara özgü, арабська мова, арабський, tiếng A-rập, thuộc A-rập, for Arabic; Bulgaars, Bulgaar, bulgr, البلغارية, بلغاري, Búlgaru, български, български език, българин, Bulgaryan, 保 利亚, bulharský, bulgarer, bulgarskt, bulgarialainen, Bulgaarsk, bulgare, 'ούλγαρος, bullgar, bolgár, bulgaro, 불가리아, Bulgeyragh, Bulgeyrish, Bułgar, болгарский, болгарин, bugarski jezik, bugarski, bugarka, bugarin, búlgaro, bulgar, bulgaristan ile ilgili, болгарський, người Bun-ga-ri tiếng Bun-ga-ri, for Bulgarian; Tsjeggies, Tsjeg, çek, تشيكي, اللغة التشيكوسلوفاكية, التشيكي أحد أبناء تشيكوسلوفاكيا, Checu, чешки, Sekoslovakyano, 捷克語 , 捷克语, 捷克 , èesky, èeské, èech, èeština, èeský, èeška, tjekker, tjekke, Tsjech, Tsjechisch, tjekkiskt, t?ekkiläinen, tchèque, Tsjechysk, Tscheche, tschechisch, Tschechin, Τσέχος, cseh, ceco, 체", Sheckagh, Sheckish, Czech, chèc, ceh, чешский, češki jezik, čeh, češki, checo, tjeck, Çek, çekoslovakyalı kimse, çekoslovakyalı, çek dili, чех, чеська мова, чеський, чешка, người Séc tiếng Séc, for Czech; Franse taal, Frans, franceze, francez, frëngjisht, frëng, frëngjishte, فرنسي, اللغة الفرنسية, الشعب الفرنسي, gall, френски език, френски, Pranses, 法國 , 法文 , 法語 , 法语, francouzština, francouzský, franskur, franskt, ranskalainen, français, Frânsk, französisch, γάλλοσ, γαλλικόσ, γαλλική γλώσσα, γαλλίδα, צרפתי, צרפתית, francia, Fraincis, francese, フレコン化 , フランス" , 仏文 , 仏 , ふつぶ", フレンチ , フランセ , ふつ, "랑스, Perancis, Ny Frangee, Mooinjey ny Frank, frances, franses, francês, francezii, francezã, franţuzesc, franţuzeşte, французский, Falani, francuski jezik, francuski, francuzi, francés, sí-Fulentji, fransk, franska, fransızca, Fransiz, fransızca ile ilgili, fransız, fransa ile ilgili, французька мова, французький, Ffrengig, isiFulentshi, for French; Jood, Hebreeus, Israeliet, hebraishte, يهودي, عبري, اليهودية, اللغة العبرية, العبرية, Hebréu, иврит, древен жител на юдея, юдейски, израилтянин, евреин, староеврейски, староеврейски език, юдей, 西伯来, 希伯來語 , hebrejský, hebrejka, hebrejec, hebrejština, joods, Hebreeuws, hebraiskt, juutalainen, hébreu, Hebrieusk, hebräisch, hebräer, εβραϊκόσ, εβραϊκά, εβραίοσ, עברית, עברי, zsidó, héber, izraelita, Eabhrais, ebraico, ebreo, ヘブライ語 , ヘブライ", Ewagh, Ew, Ewnish, hudiu, hebraico, hebreu, ebrèu, limba ebraicã, izraelit, evreu, evreiesc, ebraic, еврейский, еврей, древнееврейский, древнееврейский язык, Eperu, hibru, hebreo, dyu, Myahudi, Yahudi, hebreiska, hebreisk, jude, ชาวฮิบรู (ปัจจุบันคือประเทศอิสราเอลและปาเลสไตน์), าษาฮิบรู (ปัจจุบันคือประเทศอิสราเอลและปาเลสไตน์), musevi, ibranice, ibrani, іудей, старо"врейська мова, старо"врейський, іврит, "врейський, "врей, người Hê-brơ, Hebraeg, Hebreaidd, for Hebrew; Hongaars, Hongaar, hungarez, الهنغاري, مجري, هنغاري, المجري, اللغة الهنغارية, Húngaru, унгарски език, унгарски, унгарец, Hungaryan, 匈牙利語 , 匈牙利语, maïarský, maïar, maïarština, ungarer, Hongaarse, ungarskt, unkarilainen, hongrois, Hongaarsk, ungar, Ούγγρος, "ו 'רי, magyar, ungherese, 헝가리, Ungaarish, Ungaaragh, Węgier, ongrés, ungureşte, ungur, limba maghiarã, unguresc, maghiar, limba ungarã, венгр, венгерский, mađarski, mađar, mađarski jezik, húngaro, ungrare, ชาวฮังการี, macarca, macar, угорська мова, угорка, угорський, угорець, người Hung-ga-ri tiếng Hung-ga-ri, for Hungarian; Portugees, portugez, portugalisht, اللغة البرتغالية, البرتغالية, البرتغالي, португалски език, португалски, португалец, Potuges, 葡萄牙语, 葡萄牙人 , 葡萄牙語 , portugalský, portugiser, portugisiskt, portugalilainen, portugais, Portugeesk, portugiesisch, πορτογάλοσ, ορτογάλος, portugál, Portaingéilis, portoghese, ポルトガル語 , ポルトガル", 포르투갈, Portiugish, Portiugagh, portugues, Portugalczyk, português, portughez, португальский, portugalski jezik, portugalski, portugalac, portugués, Mreno, si-Putúkezi, portugis, portekiz, Portekízlí, portekizli, portekizce, португальська мова, португальський, португалець, người B"-đ o-nha tiếng B"-đ o-nha, for Portuguese; Russies, Rus, الروسية, روسي, اللغة الروسية, Rusu, руски, руски език, руснак, Rusyan, 俄語 , 俄语, 俄文 , ruština, ruský, russer, russur, russiskt, venäläinen, Russysk, Russe, russisch, Ρώσος, רוסי, orosz, rússneskur, Rússi, Rúisis, russo, ロシア語 , ロシア", 러시아, Rooshish, Rooshagh, russisk, Rosjanin, русский, Lusia, ruski jezik, ruski, ruso, sí-Rashîya, ryss, ชาวรัสเซีย, rusça, росіянка, росіянин, російська мова, російський, người Nga tiếng Nga, for Russian; 塞爾維亞克羅地亞語 , 塞"维亚-克罗地亚语, serbokroatisch, 세르보크로아티아, servo-croata, sârbo-croat, srpsko-hrvatski, srpsko-hrvatski jezik, serbokroatiska, serbokroatisk, เกี่ยวกับ าษาเซอร์เบียและโครเอเชีย, าษาหลักของชาวเซอร์เบียและโครเอเชีย, for Serbo-Croatian; Sweeds, suedez, اللغة السويدية, Suecu, шведски език, шведски, швед, Swedis, 瑞典語 , 瑞典语, švédský, švédština, Zweeds, svenskt, ruotsalainen, suédois, Sweedsk, schwedisch, σουηδικόσ, σουηδικά, svéd, sænskur, Sualainnis, svedese, スウェーデン語 , スウェーデン", 스웨덴, Soolynish, Soolynagh, suèc, шведский, švedski jezik, švedski, sueco, svensk, เกี่ยวกับคน าษาและวั'นธรรมของประเทศสวีเ"น, isveççe, isveç dili, isveç, Ísveçlí, шведська мова, шведський, người Thuỵ điển tiếng Thuỵ điển, for Swedish; Turks, turk, تركي أحد أبناء تركيا, اللغة التركية, Turcu, турски, турски език, Turko, 土耳其, 土耳其語 , tureètina, turecký, turkist, turkkilainen, turque, turc, Turksk, türkisch, τούρκικοσ, טורקי, török, Yn Turkish, Turkagh, turcesc, турецкий, turski jezik, turski, turco, turkisk, türk, türkçe, турецька мова, турецький, tiếng Thổ nhĩ kỳ, for Turkish; 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