idiot
English
Alternative forms
- eejit (Irish English, eye dialect)
- idjit, idget (eye dialect)
Etymology
From Middle English idiote, ydiote, from Old French idiote (later idiot), from Latin idiota, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private”). Doublet of idiota.
Pronunciation
Noun
idiot (plural idiots)
- (derogatory) A person of low general intelligence.
- (derogatory) A person who makes stupid decisions; a fool.
- We think that people who cycle without a helmet are idiots.
- (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.
- 1956, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Part I, section 7”, in Sexual Offences Act 1956, page 2:
- It is an offence for a man to have unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman whom he knows to be an idiot or imbecile.
Usage notes
- While pejorative, the word is only a weak insult, and between close friends or family members it may be used affectionately.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:idiot
Antonyms
Derived terms
- covidiot
- dipshidiot
- Floridiot
- IDiot
- idiot board
- idiot box
- idiot card
- idioted
- idiot end
- idiotese
- idiotfest
- idiot girl
- idiotic
- idiotish
- idiotism
- idiotist
- idiotize
- idiot light
- idiotlike
- idiotly
- idiot mittens
- idiotor
- idiotorial
- idiot-proof
- idiotry
- idiot-savant
- idiot sheet
- idiot stick
- idiot string
- idiot tape
- idiot tax
- Idiotville
- kiddiot
- mediot
- neo-idiot
- pyramidiot
- radiot
- televidiot
- twidiot
- useful idiot
- vidiot
- village idiot
Translations
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Translations
Czech
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈɪdɪjot]
- Hyphenation: idiot
Noun
idiot m anim (feminine idiotka)
- (mildly vulgar) idiot (disliked or slow-witted person)
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:hlupák
- idiot (person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old)
Declension
Danish
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).
Derived terms
References
- “idiot” in Den Danske Ordbog
French
Etymology
From Old French idiot (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/
audio (file) - Homophone: idiots
- Rhymes: -jo
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Polish: idiota
Further reading
- “idiot”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).
Noun
idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idioter, definite plural idiotene)
- (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool
Derived terms
References
- “idiot” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).
Noun
idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idiotar, definite plural idiotane)
- (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool
Derived terms
References
- “idiot” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old French
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).
Usage notes
References
- Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (idiot, supplement)
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French idiot, itself borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /i.diˈot/
Audio (file)
Noun
idiot m (plural idioți, feminine equivalent idioată)
Declension
Adjective
idiot m or n (feminine singular idioată, masculine plural idioți, feminine and neuter plural idioate)
Declension
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
Declension
Slovak
Etymology
Derived from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈidiɔt/
Noun
idiot m anim (genitive singular idiota, nominative plural idioti, genitive plural idiotov, declension pattern of chlap)
Declension
Derived terms
- idiotický
- idioticky
- idiotstvo
- idiotizmus
Further reading
- “idiot”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024
Swedish
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private”).
Pronunciation
audio (file)
Declension
Declension of idiot | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | idiot | idioten | idioter | idioterna |
Genitive | idiots | idiotens | idioters | idioternas |
Derived terms
- idiotanstalt
- idiotförklara
- idiothem
- idiotskola
- idiotsäker
- idiotundervisning
- idiotvård