'bungler' originates from English, specifically from the verb 'bungle' (early 18th century), which likely derives from dialectal English 'bung' or similar colloquial usages meaning to do clumsily; the agent suffix '-er' was added to form 'bungler'.

'bungle' appeared in early 18th-century English (c.1720s) meaning 'to make a mess of'; with the agent-forming suffix it became 'bungler' to denote a person who bungles. The exact earlier root is uncertain and may be from regional dialects.

Initially, the root terms conveyed a sense of clumsy handling or making a mess; over time 'bungle' and 'bungler' came to specifically mean making mistakes through incompetence — the core meaning has remained centered on clumsy or inept performance.