stupid English · revision 2679

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1541|origins=la stupeō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈstjuː.pɪd/, US /ˈstuː.pɪd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|stupidus|t=amazed, confounded; dull, foolish]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) perhaps partly [[bor|frm|stupide]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|stupeō|t=I am stunned, amazed, struck senseless]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which is akin to Greek týptein “to beat, strike”, the source of [[type]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline takes it to [[ine-pro|*(s)tew-|alt=*(s)teu-|t=to push, knock, beat]].^(Etymonline) Old English had no single word for the idea, using unwīs, dol (the source of [[dull]]) and dysig (the source of [[dizzy]]).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Slow or dull in thinking”: 1541, in Copland's translation of Galen's ''Terapeutyke'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) the 1540s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Stupid'' long kept its link with [[stupor]]: “stunned, dumbfounded, stupefied” is attested from the 1610s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) was very common in Dryden, and lasted into the mid-18th century;^(Etymonline) it is now archaic.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Blount's dictionary of 1656 defines it only as “dismaid, abashed, astonied, amazed, senceless”.^(Etymonline) The slow-witted sense eventually became the main meaning.^(Cresswell 2021) Of ideas or actions, “showing stupidity”, it is from 1621,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and “dull, pointless” by 1778.^(Etymonline) The noun, “a stupid person”, is from 1712, in Steele's ''Spectator''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Stupidity'' is also from 1541.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1541 – slow-witted.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1611 – stunned, stupefied.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1621 – of actions, showing stupidity.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1656 – Blount: dismayed, amazed.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1712 – noun, a stupid person.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1778 – dull, pointless.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Lacking [[intelligence]] or common sense; slow to learn or understand.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Showing a lack of good sense: ''a stupid mistake''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Boring or annoying; pointless.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(archaic)'' In a [[stupor]]; dazed.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(informal)'' A stupid person.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stupidly]]

+ * [[stupidness]]

+ * [[unstupid]]

+ * [[stupidity]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stupefy]]

+ * [[stupor]]

+ * [[stupendous]]

+ * [[type]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Stupid'' is the most general of the words meaning lacking intelligence;^(AHD) ''slow'' and ''dumb'' suggest a slowness to learn,^(AHD) while ''dull'' suggests a lack of mental sharpness and ''obtuse'' an inability to understand.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}