dudgeon

Etymology

The origin of dudgeon is uncertain. It may be the same word as Etymology 2, below. It has also been suggested to come from Welsh dygen, meaning ‘anger, grudge’ (itself from dy- + cwyn, ‘complaint’), though the OED rejects this. Another possibility is dudgen, meaning ‘trash, something worthless’. It may also have been borrowed from Italian aduggiare, ‘to overshadow’, in a shift of meaning similar to that of umbrage.