idiot

See also Idiot, and IDiot

English

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French idiote (later idiot), from Latin idiota, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiōtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”), from ἴδιος (idios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private”); ἰδιώτης (idiōtēs) was used derisively in ancient Athens to refer to one who declined to take part in public life.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /ˈɪd.iː.ət/, X-SAMPA: /"Id.i:.@t/
• (Ireland, Scotland) IPA: /iːdʒɪt/, X-SAMPA: /i:dZIt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

idiot (plural idiots)

1. (pejorative) A common term for a person of low general intelligence.

   usage note This may be used pejoratively, as an insult. It is a weak insult, however, and between close friends, family members, or lovers, is often completely nonaggressive.

2. (obsolete) A medical or psychological term meaning a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old.

Synonyms

• (all): eejit (Irish English)
• See also Wikisaurus:idiot

Antonyms

• genius

Related terms

Related terms

idiocy idiom idiosyncratic idiotic

idiotically idiot savant useful idiot

Translations

person of low general intelligence

• Arabic: غبي (ar) (ghábiy) m, غبية (ar) (ghabíyya) f, plural: أغبياء (ar) (’aghbiyaa’) m pl
• Basque: ergel
• Bengali: মূর্খ (bn), বেক্কল (bn)
• Bulgarian: идиот (bg) (idiót) m, абдал (bg) (abdál) m
• Catalan: idiota (ca) m and f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 死蠢 (sei2 ceon2), 白痴 (baak6 ci1)

  Mandarin: 白痴 (cmn) (báichī), 傻子 (cmn) (shǎzi), 蠢貨 (cmn), 蠢货 (cmn) (chǔnhuò), 傻瓜 (cmn) (shǎguā), 笨蛋 (cmn) (bèndàn), 白痴 (cmn) (báichī), 蠢材 (cmn) (chǔncái)

• Czech: idiot (cs) m
• Danish: idiot (da) c
• Dutch: idioot (nl) m
• Estonian: idioot (et)
• Finnish: idiootti (fi), typerys (fi), hölmö (fi), pöljä (fi), urpo (fi)
• French: idiot (fr) m
• Georgian: იდიოტი (ka) (idioti)
• German: Idiot (de) m, Idiotin (de) f
• Greek: ηλίθιος (el) (ilíthios) m
• Hebrew: אידיוט (he)
• Hindi: मूर्ख (hi) (mūrkh), बुद्धू (hi) (bud'dhū), उल्लू (hi) (ullū), बेवक़ूफ़ (hi) (bēvaqūf)
• Hungarian: idióta (hu)
• Icelandic: hálviti (is) m, asni (is) m, grasasni (is) m, skynskiptingur (is) m (obsolete)
• Irish: amadán (ga)
• Italian: idiota (it) m and f
• Japanese: 馬鹿 (ja) (ばか, baka), あほ (ja) (aho), 白痴 (ja) (はくち, hakuchi)
• Korean: 백치 (ko) (baekchi)

• Latin: idiota (la) m
• Latvian: idiots (lv) m, idiote (lv) f, muļķis (lv) m, muļķe (lv) f, duraks (lv) m
• Luhya: omsilu
• Macedonian: абдал (mk) (ábdal) m
• Malay: bodoh (ms)
• Norwegian: idiot (no) m
• Polish: idiota (pl) m, idiotka (pl) f
• Portuguese: idiota (pt) m and f
• Romanian: idiot m, idioată f, idioți pl, idioate f pl
• Russian: идиот (ru) (idiót) m, идиотка (ru) (idiótka) f, дурак (ru) (durák) m, дура (ru) (dúra) f, дурень (ru) (dúren') m
• Sanskrit: मूढ (sa) (mūḍha), निर्बुद्धि (sa) (nirbud'dhi), मूर्ख (sa) (mūrkha)
• Scots: stookie
• Scottish Gaelic: amadan m, òinseach f, burraidh (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: идѝот (sh) m

  Roman: idìot (sh) m

• Slovak: idiot (sk) m
• Spanish: idiota (es) m and f
• Swahili: mjinga (sw), kichwamaji (sw)
• Swedish: idiot (sv) c
• Tagalog: bobo (tl), tanga (tl)
• Telugu: వెధవ (te) (vedhava)
• Turkish: salak (tr)
• Urdu: مورکھ (ur) (mūrkh), بے وقوف (ur) (bēvaqūf)
• Vietnamese: thằng ngốc (vi)
• Volapük: (male or female) diotan (vo), (male) hidiotan (vo), (female) jidiotan (vo)

person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old

• Greek: ιδιώτης (el) (idiótis) m, μικρόνους (el) (mikrónous) m

• Latvian: idiots (lv) m, idiote (lv) f

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Czech

Noun

idiot m

1. idiot (disliked or slow-witted person)
2. idiot (person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old)

Related terms

• idiotský
• idiocie

See also

• blb
• blbec
• kretén
• debil

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA: /i.djo/, X-SAMPA: /i.djo/
• Homophone: idiots

• audio

  (file)

Adjective

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

1. idiotic; stupid

Noun

idiot m (plural idiots; feminine idiote, plural idiotes)

1. idiot

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Old French

Adjective

idiot m

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

• English: idiot (borrowed)
• French: idiot

References

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

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Romanian

Noun

idiot m (plural idioți; feminine equivalent idioată)

1. idiot, moron, imbecile

Synonyms

• prost, tâmpit, imbecil, cretin

Adjective

idiot

1. stupid, idiotic, foolish, absurd

Synonyms

• prost, tâmpit, stupid

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Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA: /idǐot/
• Hyphenation: i‧di‧ot

Noun

idìot m (Cyrillic spelling идѝот)

1. idiot

Declension

    declension of idiot

	singular	plural
nominative	idiot	idioti
genitive	idiota	idiota
dative	idiotu	idiotima
accusative	idiota	idiote
vocative	idiote	idioti
locative	idiotu	idiotima
instrumental	idiotom	idiotima

See also

• glùpan
• blèsan
• krètēn

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Slovak

Noun

idiot m , declension pattern chlap

1. (pejorative) idiot

Derived terms

• idiotický
• idiotizmus

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Noun

idiot c

1. (pejorative) idiot

Declension

Declension of idiot

	singular		plural
Common	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	idiot	idioten	idioter	idioterna
genitive	idiots	idiotens	idioters	idioternas