the.com/goof

means A silly mistake or blunder, or the kind of likable, slightly foolish person who makes them.

from Likely traces back to 'goff,' an old dialect word for a fool or simpleton, which itself may descend from French 'goffe,' meaning clumsy or awkward. It surfaced in American slang in the early 1900s and spread through usages like 'goof off' and 'goofball,' picking up its harmless, grinning quality along the way — the exact path is a bit hazy, but the word has always leaned toward fondness rather than scorn.