Etymologically
Log in

stupidity

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 00:38. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • UK: /stjuːˈpɪdɪti/[1]
  • US: /stuˈpɪdɪti/[1]

Etymology

It is partly borrowed from Middle French stupidité (“insensibility; lack of intelligence”) and partly borrowed from Latin stupiditās (“lack of intelligence, foolishness”),[2][3][4][5] formed from stupidus (“amazed, confounded; dull, foolish”) and the suffix -tās.[2][4][6] Etymonline takes it from Latin alone.[6] The Latin adjective, the source of stupid, comes from stupeō (“to be stunned, amazed”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lack of intelligence or common sense: about 1541, in Robert Copland's translation of Galen.[2][4][6]

Semantic evolution

Besides the main sense, which has not changed, the word long kept the physical and emotional senses of its Latin source.[6][2] From 1568 it meant numbness of feeling, apathy or indifference, later chiefly in religious writing;[2][6] from 1603 loss of sensation or a state of stupor;[2][6] from about 1615, dazed astonishment.[2] In the 17th century it could also be a failure to resent an insult or injury, seen as a weakness.[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "dulness; heaviness of mind; sluggishness of understanding".[7] An instance of foolishness, a stupid act or idea, is recorded from 1594.[2] In south-west Lincolnshire the word meant obstinacy (1886).[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1541 – lack of intelligence or common sense.[2][4]
  • 1568 – apathy, numbness of feeling.[2][6]
  • 1594 – a stupid act or idea.[2]
  • 1603 – loss of sensation; stupor.[2][6]
  • c. 1615 – dazed astonishment.[2]
  • 1886 – in Lincolnshire, obstinacy.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The quality or state of being stupid; lack of intelligence or good sense.[8][4][2]
  2. A stupid act, remark or idea: the stupidities of the old regime.[8][4][2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins