ignoramus English · revision 2186

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌɪɡ.nəˈɹeɪ.məs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|ignōrāmus|t=we do not know]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) the first person plural present of ''ignōrāre'' “not to know”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) It was originally a legal term, from New Latin and Anglo-French.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The endorsement a grand jury formerly wrote on a bill of indictment when it found the evidence insufficient to send the case to trial (a1577).^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “an ignorant person” (a1616) comes from ''Ignoramus'', the title role in George Ruggle's Latin play of 1615 satirizing the ignorance of common lawyers.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) Because the Latin word is a verb and not a noun, the plural is ''ignoramuses''.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a1577 – a grand jury's endorsement rejecting an indictment.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1615 – ''Ignoramus'', a play by George Ruggle.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * a1616 – an ignorant person.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An utterly ignorant person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(law, historical)'' A grand jury's endorsement on an indictment found to have insufficient evidence.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ignore]]

+ * [[ignorant]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The plural is ''ignoramuses'';^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) ''ignorami'' is a humorous or nonstandard hypercorrection.^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}