See also: Idiot and IDiot

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English idiote, ydiote, from Old French idiote (later idiot), from Latin idiota, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman), from ἴδιος (ídios, one's own, pertaining to oneself, private). Doublet of idiota.

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) enPR: ĭdĭət, IPA(key): /ˈɪd.i.(j)ɪt/, /ˈɪd.i.(j)ət/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -iət, -iɪt

Noun

idiot (plural idiots)

  1. (derogatory) A person of low general intelligence.
  2. (derogatory) A person who makes stupid decisions; a fool.
    We think that people who cycle without a helmet are idiots.
  3. (obsolete, medicine, psychology) A person of the lowest intellectual standing, a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old; a person with an IQ below 30.
    • 1956, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Part I, section 7”, in Sexual Offences Act 1956[1], page 2:
      It is an offence for a man to have unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman whom he knows to be an idiot or imbecile.

Usage notes

  • While pejorative, the word is only a weak insult, and between close friends or family members it may be used affectionately.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

idiot (comparative more idiot, superlative most idiot)

  1. (uncommon) idiotic, stupid

Translations

Czech

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈɪdɪjot]
  • Hyphenation: idiot

Noun

idiot m anim (feminine idiotka)

  1. (mildly vulgar) idiot (disliked or slow-witted person)
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:hlupák
  2. idiot (person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old)

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

  • idiot in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
  • idiot in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
  • idiot in Internetová jazyková příručka

Danish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).

Noun

idiot

  1. (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

Derived terms

References

French

Etymology

From Old French idiot (cf. also the older form idiote), borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, layman) from ἴδιος (ídios, private).

Pronunciation

Adjective

idiot (feminine idiote, masculine plural idiots, feminine plural idiotes)

  1. idiotic; stupid

Noun

idiot m (plural idiots, feminine idiote)

  1. idiot

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Polish: idiota

Further reading

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).

Noun

idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idioter, definite plural idiotene)

  1. (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).

Noun

idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idiotar, definite plural idiotane)

  1. (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

Derived terms

References

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, layman) from ἴδιος (ídios, private).

Adjective

idiot m (oblique and nominative feminine singular idiote)

  1. ignorant; narrow-minded

Usage notes

  • The form idiote was sometimes used as both masculine and feminine, as a direct borrowing from Latin idiota.

Descendants

References

  • Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (idiot, supplement)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French idiot, itself borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, layman) from ἴδιος (ídios, private).

Pronunciation

Noun

idiot m (plural idioți, feminine equivalent idioată)

  1. idiot, moron, imbecile
    Synonyms: prost, tâmpit, imbecil, cretin

Declension

Adjective

idiot m or n (feminine singular idioată, masculine plural idioți, feminine and neuter plural idioate)

  1. stupid, idiotic, foolish, absurd
    Synonyms: prost, tâmpit, stupid

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /idǐot/
  • Hyphenation: i‧di‧ot

Noun

idìot m (Cyrillic spelling идѝот)

  1. idiot

Declension

See also

Slovak

Etymology

Derived from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman).

Pronunciation

Noun

idiot m anim (genitive singular idiota, nominative plural idioti, genitive plural idiotov, declension pattern of chlap)

  1. (derogatory) idiot

Declension


Derived terms

See also

Further reading

  • idiot”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024

Swedish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman), from ἴδιος (ídios, one's own, pertaining to oneself, private).

Pronunciation

Noun

idiot c

  1. (derogatory) idiot

Declension

Declension of idiot 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative idiot idioten idioter idioterna
Genitive idiots idiotens idioters idioternas

Derived terms

Related terms