imbecile

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɪmbəsiːl/ (UK); /ˈɪmbəsɪl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French imbécile (“weak, feeble”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Latin imbēcillus (“weak, feeble”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a word of uncertain origin.^[3][4] It is traditionally explained as in- “not” and bacillum “staff”, as if “without a walking stick”,^[2][4] an explanation Weekley accepted but de Vaan and the Century Dictionary reject.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective, weak or feeble, especially of body (1549).^[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

In the mid-18th century the sense shifted to “mentally weak” (1755).^[7][4] As a noun, a person of weak intellect, it dates from 1802.^[7][3][4][5] In an old psychological classification it named an adult of mental age between an idiot and a moron, a use now considered offensive,^[2][6][4] and in modern use it is mainly a general insult for a stupid person.^[2][5][1]

Timeline

• 1549 – adjective, physically weak.^[7][3]
• 1624 – imbecility, mental weakness.^[3]
• 1755 – mentally weak.^[7][4]
• 1802 – noun, a feeble-minded person.^[7][3][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A stupid or foolish person; an idiot.
2. (dated, offensive) A person of moderately low intelligence, in a former classification of mental disability.

Adjective

1. Stupid or silly.
2. (archaic) Weak or feeble.

Related words

• imbecility
• idiot
• moron
• cretin

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press