Mid 18th century; earliest use found in Thomas Mortimer (1730–1810), writer on trade and finance. From French étourdi, use as noun of étourdi<br>mid 18th century; earliest use found in Philip Stanhope (1694–1773), politician and diplomatist. From French étourdi, use as adjective of étourdi, past participle of étourdir to afflict with numbness of the brain (through concussion, inebriation, dizziness, etc.), to annoy or bore with a repeated action, to stupefy, dumbfound, to render insensible, apparently ultimately from classical Latin turdus thrush, perhaps with allusion to the bird's reputed tendency to become intoxicated after eating large quantities of grapes (compare Middle French plus estourdy que une grive, plus saoul que une grive, etc., lit. ‘drunker than a thrush’).