unwisdom

English

Etymology

From Middle English unwisdom, from Old English unwīsdōm, corresponding to un- +‎ wisdom.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʌnˈwɪzdəm/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪzdəm

Noun

unwisdom (countable and uncountable, plural unwisdoms)

1. Lack of wisdom; unwise conduct or action [from 9th c.]

   Synonyms: ignorance, stupidity

   • 1856–1870, James Anthony Froude, History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth, volumes (please specify |volume=I to XII), London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC:

     In possession of this, he could either convince his mistress of her own unwisdom, or satisfy himself that she was right

   • 1963 February, “Diesel locomotive faults and their remedies”, in Modern Railways, page 99:

     A very common engine fault, leaking joints, provides an example of the unwisdom of undertaking design modification without full service experience. [...] After only a short period of service, however, so many railways requested a reversion to the original type that the modification had to be abandoned.

   • 1970, Larry Niven, Ringworld, page 115:

     [H]e spoke of the unwisdom of volunteering one's services as a guinea pig.

   • 2010, Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22, Atlantic, published 2011, page 151:

     Reporting from Vietnam in 1945, he may have been the first person to assert the extreme unwisdom of trying to restore French colonialism with British troops.

Translations

lack of wisdom

• Bulgarian: неблагоразу́мие (bg) n (neblagorazúmie)
• Irish: aineagna f
• Italian: malaccortezza (it) f
• Middle English: unwisdom

References

• “unwisdom”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• onwisdom, onwysdam, unwisdam, unwisdome, unwijsdam, unwijsdom, unwysdom, unwysedom

Etymology

From Old English unwīsdōm; equivalent to un- +‎ wisdom.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /unˈwizdoːm/, /unˈwiːzdoːm/, /-am/

Noun

unwisdom (uncountable)

1. idiocy, stupidity
2. (rare) mistake, blunder

Descendants

• English: unwisdom

References

• “unwī̆sdọ̄̆m, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.