# Reading > Who Said That? >  In High dudgeon

## Beaunydle

I wondered who first quoted "In high dudgeon" and what the original meaning of dudgeon is? Can anyone shed any light on this please.

Thanks 

Beau

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## bazarov

Dudgeon means a state of anger, resentment, or offence and often turns up as in dudgeon or in high dudgeon The Oxford English Dictionary cant give its source, though its sure its not from the Welsh word dygen, meaning malice or resentment, which has been suggested in the past. It does point to endugine, a word recorded just once, in 1638, with the same sense, which might have given us a clue, but doesnt help at all.

It also records another sense of the word, itself mysterious, for a kind of wood used by turners, especially the handles of knives or daggers. It has been suggested it was another name for boxwood. It appears in Shakespeares Macbeth: I see thee still, / And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, / Which was not so before. Later the word was used for a dagger whose handle was made of this wood.

It just might be that a state of anger or resentment could have led to the grabbing of a dudgeon knife with intent to redress a slight, but theres no evidence whatever of the connection.

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## Beaunydle

Thanks for the info Bazarov.
I appreciate it.

regards

Beau

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