idiot English · revision 170
5 Oct 2026, 22:09 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
Changes in this edit
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈɪdiət/^(Wiktionary)
+
==Etymology==
− Recorded from the early 14th century.^(Etymonline) From [[enm|idiote|t=ignorant person]],^(AHD)^(Wiktionary) [[bor|fro|idiote|t=uneducated or ignorant person]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD) [[der|la|idiōta|t=ordinary person, layman]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) [[der|grc|ἰδιώτης|tr=idiṓtēs|t=private person, layman]],^(AHD)^(OED 1989) from ''ídios'' “one's own, private”.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ From [[enm|idiote|t=ignorant person]],^(AHD)^(Wiktionary) [[bor|fro|idiote|t=uneducated or ignorant person]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD) [[der|la|idiōta|t=ordinary person, layman]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) [[der|grc|ἰδιώτης|tr=idiṓtēs|t=private person, layman]],^(AHD)^(OED 1989) from ''ídios'' “one's own, private”.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
− The Greek word meant a private person as opposed to one taking part in public affairs, and was also used patronizingly for an ignorant person.^(Etymonline) Compare [[idiom]].^(Etymonline)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A person so mentally deficient as to be incapable of ordinary reasoning (early 14th century; the OED's first quotation is from before 1300).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The Greek word meant a private person as opposed to one taking part in public affairs, and was also used patronizingly for an ignorant person.^(Etymonline) In Middle English ''idiot'' also meant “a simple, uneducated person; a layman”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In old English law an ''idiot'' had lacked reason from birth, as distinguished from a lunatic, who had become so.^(Etymonline) From the 16th century the word also named a professional fool or jester.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * before 1300 – a person incapable of ordinary reasoning.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1377 – “an uneducated, ignorant person”.^(OED 1989)
+ * c. 1380 – “a layman”.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1526 – a court fool or jester.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1870 – ''idiot savant''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1959 – ''idiot box'', “television set”.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1961 – ''idiot light'', a dashboard warning light.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A foolish or stupid person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(dated, offensive)'' A person of profound intellectual disability, in an obsolete classification.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[idiotic]]
+ * [[idiotism]]
+ * [[idiotize]]
+ * [[idiot-proof]]
+ * [[idiot board]]
+ * [[idiot box]]
+ * [[idiot card]]
+ * [[idiot light]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[idiocy]]
+ * [[idiom]]
+ * [[idiot savant]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ Although pejorative, the word is only a weak insult, and may be used affectionately between friends or family.^(Wiktionary) Its clinical sense belongs to a classification no longer in use and is now considered offensive.^(AHD)
==References==