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Webster 1913 Edition

Idiocy

Id′i-o-cy

(ĭd′ĭ-ō̍-sy̆)
,
Noun.
[From
idiot
; cf. Gr. [GREEK] uncouthness, lack of education, fr. [GREEK]. See
Idiot
, and cf.
Idiotcy
.]
The condition or quality of being an idiot; absence, or marked deficiency, of sense and intelligence.
I will undertake to convict a man of
idiocy
, if he can not see the proof that three angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles.
F. W. Robertson.

Webster 1828 Edition

Idiocy

ID'IOCY

,
Noun.
[Gr. See Idiot.] A defect of understanding; properly, a natural defect.
Idiocy and lunacy excuse from the guilt of crime.

Definition 2024

idiocy

idiocy

English

Alternative forms

Noun

idiocy ‎(plural idiocies)

  1. (psychology) The state or condition of being an idiot; the quality of having an intelligence level far below average; mental retardation.
  2. An act lacking intelligence or sense; an instance of senselessness; extremely foolish behaviour.
    The administrators, growing tired of such idiocy, put a new policy in place.

Related terms

Synonyms

Translations

References

  • idiocy at OneLook Dictionary Search

Etymology

From French idiotie, from Old French idiot. Displaced earlier idiotacy, idiotry.

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