Etymologically
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stupidus

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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

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