booby

the word 'booby' entered english in the late 16th century, likely derived from the spanish term 'bobo', meaning a fool or dunce. this spanish word itself may have latin origins, possibly from 'balbus', meaning stammering, or it could be of imitative origin, related to the sound of foolish babbling. the term was first applied to a foolish person, and later, in the 17th century, was transferred to the clumsy, tame seabird, which was easily caught by sailors. the sporting sense, denoting an easy catch or shot, logically extends from this idea of something foolishly simple or easy.

the word is a simplex loanword. it does not contain separable morphemes in its modern english form.