Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Idiot

Id′i-ot

(ĭd′ĭ-ŏt)
,
Noun.
[F.
idiot
, L.
idiota
an uneducated, ignorant, ill-informed person, Gr.
ἰδιώτης
, also and orig., a private person, not holding public office, fr.
ἴδιοσ
proper, peculiar. See
Idiom
.]
1.
A man in private station, as distinguished from one holding a public office.
[Obs.]
St. Austin affirmed that the plain places of Scripture are sufficient to all laics, and all
idiots
or private persons.
Jer. Taylor.
2.
An unlearned, ignorant, or simple person, as distinguished from the educated; an ignoramus.
[Obs.]
Christ was received of
idiots
, of the vulgar people, and of the simpler sort, while he was rejected, despised, and persecuted even to death by the high priests, lawyers, scribes, doctors, and rabbis.
C. Blount.
Life . . . is a tale
Told by an
idiot
, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Shakespeare
4.
A fool; a simpleton; – a term of reproach.
Weenest thou make an
idiot
of our dame?
Chaucer.

Webster 1828 Edition


Idiot

ID'IOT

, n.[L. idiota; Gr. private,vulgar,unskilled, peculiar, that is, separate, simple. See Idiom.]
1.
A natural fool or fool from his birth; a human being in form, but destitute of reason, or the ordinary intellectual powers of man.
A person who has understanding enough to measure a yard of cloth, number twenty correctly, tell the days of the week, &c., is not an idiot in the eye of the law.
2.
A foolish person; one unwise.

Definition 2024


Idiot

Idiot

See also: idiot and IDiot

German

Noun

Idiot m (genitive Idioten, plural Idioten)

  1. (pejorative) idiot

Declension

Derived terms

idiot

idiot

See also: Idiot and IDiot

English

Alternative forms

Noun

idiot (plural idiots)

  1. (pejorative) A person of low general intelligence.
  2. (obsolete, medicine, psychology) A person of the lowest intellectual standing, a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old; a person with an IQ below 30.

Usage notes

  • The word "idiot" is usually used pejoratively, as an insult. It is a weak insult, however, and between close friends, family members, or lovers, is often completely nonaggressive.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:idiot

Antonyms

Related terms

Translations


Czech

Noun

idiot m

  1. idiot (disliked or slow-witted person)
  2. idiot (person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old)

Related terms

See also


French

Etymology

From Old French (cf. also the older form idiote), borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, layman) from ἴδιος (ídios, private).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /i.djo/
  • Homophone: idiots

Adjective

idiot m (feminine singular idiote, masculine plural idiots, feminine plural idiotes)

  1. idiotic; stupid

Noun

idiot m (plural idiots, feminine idiote)

  1. idiot

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs)

Noun

idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idioter, definite plural idiotene)

  1. an idiot, imbecile, fool

Derived terms

References


Norwegian Nynorsk


Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs)

Noun

idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idiotar, definite plural idiotane)

  1. an idiot, imbecile, fool

Derived terms

References


Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, layman) from ἴδιος (ídios, private).

Adjective

idiot m (oblique and nominative feminine singular idiote)

  1. ignorant; narrow-minded

Usage notes

  • The form idiote was sometimes used as both masculine and feminine, as a direct borrowing from Latin idiota.

Descendants

References

  • (fr) Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (idiot, supplement)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from French idiot, itself borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, layman) from ἴδιος (ídios, private).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /i.diˈot/

Noun

idiot m (plural idioți, feminine equivalent idioată)

  1. idiot, moron, imbecile

Synonyms

Adjective

idiot m, n (feminine singular idioată, masculine plural idioți, feminine and neuter plural idioate)

  1. stupid, idiotic, foolish, absurd

Declension

Synonyms


Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /idǐot/
  • Hyphenation: i‧di‧ot

Noun

idìot m (Cyrillic spelling идѝот)

  1. idiot

Declension

See also


Slovak

Etymology

From Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman).

Noun

idiot m (genitive singular idiota, nominative plural idioti, declension pattern of chlap)

  1. (pejorative) idiot

Declension

Derived terms

See also


Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

idiot c

  1. (pejorative) idiot

Declension

Inflection of idiot 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative idiot idioten idioter idioterna
Genitive idiots idiotens idioters idioternas