Wiktionary

bigot

English

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Etymology

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From French bigot (“a sanctimonious person; a religious hypocrite”), from Middle French bigot, from Old French bigot, of disputed origin. It is most often believed to have derived from the identical Old French derogatory term bigot applied to the overly religious Normans, said to be known for frequently swearing Middle English bi God (“by God”) (compare Old English bī god, Middle High German bī got, Middle Dutch bi gode), which is also thought to be the origin of the surname Bigott, Bygott. (Compare the French use of "goddamns" to refer to the English in Joan of Arc's time, and les sommobiches (see son of a bitch) during World War I). From meaning "someone overly religious" it came to mean "someone overly devoted to their own religious opinion", and then to its current sense.[1]

The French Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales supports the Germanic origin theory above. Liberman however opines that this has "too strong a taste of a folk etymological guess invented in retrospect" and prefers Grammont et al.'s theory that it derives from Albigot (“inhabitant of Albi”),[2] named after the commune in southern France where Catharism (also known as Albigensianism[3]) is thought to have originated. However, neither the Oxford English Dictionary nor Online Etymology Dictionary list Grammont and Liberman's theory among their possible origins.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bigot (plural bigots)

  1. One who is narrow-mindedly devoted to their own ideas and groups, and intolerant of (people of) differing ideas, races, genders, religions, politics, etc.
    • 2023 April 13, Aletha Adu, Jessica Elgot, Kiran Stacey, “Senior Conservatives hit out at Suella Braverman’s ‘racist rhetoric’”, in The Guardian‎[1], →ISSN:
      A former senior minister from Boris Johnson’s government told the Guardian they believed Braverman was a “real racist bigot”.
  2. (obsolete) One who is overly pious in matters of religion, often hypocritically or else superstitiously so.
    • 1653, Urquhart, translating Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais, book 1:
      He is no bigot or hypocrite, he is not torn and divided betwixt reality and appearance, no wretch of a rugged and peevish disposition, but honest, jovial, resolute, and a good fellow.
    • 1664, Henry More, A Modest Enquiry Into the Mystery of Iniquity, page 436:
      Thus one part of their Church becomes Sotts and Bigots; and the other that behold this Scene of things, though they profess themselves of their Church, become a company of profane Atheists and clancular Deriders of all Religion. […] Nay it is a question whether those that do more superstitiously cleave to them, doe it not rather in a kind of confusion and obstupefaction of mind out of fear and suspicion, then any determinate assurance or firm belief of the things they outwardly profess.
    • 1820, [Charles Robert Maturin], Melmoth the Wanderer: A Tale. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Company, and Hurst, Robinson, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 240:
      Donna Clara was a woman of a cold and grave temper, with all the solemnity of a Spaniard, and all the austerity of a bigot.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “bigot”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ^ OUP blog
  3. ^ https://www.britannica.com/event/Albigensian-Crusade

Further reading

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Catalan

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Noun

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bigot m (plural bigots)

  1. Alternative form of bigoti

Cebuano

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Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: bi‧got

Adjective

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bigot

  1. (of a woman) buxom; having a full, voluptuous figure, especially possessing large breasts
  2. sleek; slim and streamlined

Quotations

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For quotations using this term, see Citations:bigot.

Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French bigot, from Middle French bigot.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /biˈɣɔt/, /biˈʒɔt/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: bi‧got
  • Rhymes: -ɔt

Adjective

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bigot (comparative bigotter, superlative bigotst)

  1. holier-than-thou, excessively pious
    Synonym: kwezelachtig
  2. sanctimonious
    Synonym: schijnheilig

Declension

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Declension of bigot
uninflected bigot
inflected bigotte
comparative bigotter
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial bigot bigotter het bigotst
het bigotste
indefinite m./f. sing. bigotte bigottere bigotste
n. sing. bigot bigotter bigotste
plural bigotte bigottere bigotste
definite bigotte bigottere bigotste
partitive bigots bigotters —

Noun

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bigot m (plural bigotten)

  1. a holier-than-thou person, an extremely pious person
    Synonyms: femelaar, kwezel, pilaarbijter

French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French bigot, from Old French bigot, a derogatory term applied to Normans, possibly due to their frequent use of the Old English oath bī god (“by God”). See also English bigot for a further possible etymology.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bigot m (plural bigots, feminine bigote)

  1. bigot, holier-than-thou

Adjective

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bigot (feminine bigote, masculine plural bigots, feminine plural bigotes)

  1. over-pious, holier-than-thou

Further reading

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Polish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French bigot.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bigot m pers (female equivalent bigotka)

  1. (derogatory, literary) bigot, religious fanatic, sanctimonious person
    Synonyms: dewot, nabożniś, pobożniś, religiant, świętoszek

Declension

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Declension of bigot
singular plural
nominative bigot bigoci/bigoty (deprecative)
genitive bigota bigotów
dative bigotowi bigotom
accusative bigota bigotów
instrumental bigotem bigotami
locative bigocie bigotach
vocative bigocie bigoci
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adjective
noun

Further reading

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  • bigot in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • bigot in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French bigot.

Noun

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bigot m (plural bigoți)

  1. bigot

Declension

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Declension of bigot
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative bigot bigotul bigoți bigoții
genitive-dative bigot bigotului bigoți bigoților
vocative bigotule bigoților

Serbo-Croatian

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Etymology

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From French bigot.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /bǐɡot/
  • Hyphenation: bi‧got

Noun

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bìgot m (Cyrillic spelling бѝгот)

  1. bigot

Declension

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Declension of bigot
singular plural
nominative bìgot bigoti
genitive bigota bigótā
dative bigotu bigotima
accusative bigota bigote
vocative bigote bigoti
locative bigotu bigotima
instrumental bigotom bigotima

References

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  • “bigot”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
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