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idiot

Etymology and origin of the French word idiot

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1180, Estoire de seint Aedward (idiote)
Borrowed from
Latin idiota
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (ἴδιος)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης
Latin idiota
English idiot
French idiot

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /i.djo/[1]

Forms

idiot (feminine idiote, masculine plural idiots, feminine plural idiotes)[1] Idiote as a masculine adjective (about 1180), ydiotes (about 1225); ydiot, idiot from Oresme (1370–72).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin idiōta (“layman, one who is not an expert; ignorant person”), also “idiōtēs”, an adjective in Christian Latin.[2][3][4][5] The Latin word was taken from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “private person; layman”), one who was not a magistrate, a public man or a specialist, hence one without skill or education, from ἴδιος (ídios, “private, one's own”).[3][6][1] The form “idiot”, which replaced “idiote”, goes back to Oresme; it may follow sot, with which it is often paired, or Oresme's preference for “idiotes” over “idiota”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Estoire de seint Aedward le rei (about 1180) idiote means unlettered, ignorant, Gautier de Coinci (about 1225) has it as a noun and in the sense “foolish”: tous soz et ydiotes.[2][4][6]

Semantic evolution

The Latin sense “unlettered” lasted until the 16th or 17th century, and the lay brothers who could not read were called idiots.[3][7][6] The noun “fool” is in Beaumanoir (1283), and things such as a custom or a prejudice were called idiot from 1612.[2][3] About 1660 (Retz) it came to mean a person of abnormally low intelligence, and in medicine (1690) one with the most severe mental deficiency.[3][4] As an insult with a weakened sense it is in Marivaux (1731).[4] Idiotie was chosen by Esquirol in medicine to replace idiotisme.[7][3]

Timeline

  • c. 1180 – Idiote “ignorant”.[4][2]
  • c. 1225 – “Foolish”, Gautier de Coinci.[2]
  • 1283 – A fool, Beaumanoir.[2]
  • 1370–72 – The form ydiot, Oresme.[2]
  • 1660 – A person of very low intelligence, Retz.[3]
  • 1690 – In medicine.[3]
  • 1818 – Idiotie.[3]
  • 1845 – Idiotement.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. stupid, foolish: il est complètement idiot; of things, silly, absurd: une question idiote, un accident idiot.[8][9]
  2. (medicine, dated) Suffering from severe mental deficiency.[8][2]

Noun

  1. An idiot, fool: espèce d'idiot !, faire l'idiot, to play dumb.[8][4]
  2. (dated) A person of very low intelligence: l'idiot du village.[4][3]

Word family

  • idiotie
  • idiotement
  • idiotiser

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 539a
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Idiot.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/idiot. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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