Etymologically
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idiot

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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)