stupidus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈstʊ.pɪ.dʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈstuː.pi.dus]^[1]

Forms

stupidus (feminine stupida, neuter stupidum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin stupeo (“to be stunned”) + -idus.^[2][1] Wiktionary traces stupeō to Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp- (“to push, strike”).^[1] Döderlein compared Greek Ancient Greek τύφω (túphō), an older view.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Accius uses it of breasts weighed down by dazed sleep, and Plautus asks a woman “why do you stand there stunned?”.^[2][4] Köbler dates Accius 170–c. 90 BC and Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It first meant physically dazed or numbed, and struck senseless by shock, spellbound: Terence's audience is studiō stupidus, captivated by a tightrope walker.^[2][6] From Varro and Cicero on it also meant foolish, dull-witted, as when Zopyrus called Socrates stupid.^[2][7] Döderlein distinguishes stupidus, a person who understands with difficulty, from brutus and bardus.^[3]

In medieval British Latin it meant numb, dazed and amazed.^[8] English stupid is recorded in the 1540s.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a stunned woman.^[2][5]
• 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of spellbound spectators.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of Socrates called stupid.^[2][5]
• 1540s – English stupid is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Dazed, stunned, amazed, spellbound.^[2][4]
2. stupid, dull, foolish.^[2][6]

Word family

• praestupidus
• stupiditās
• stupido

Related words

• stupeō
• English stupid
• English stupor

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com