ignoramus

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪməs

Etymology 1

After the ignorant lawyer Ignoramus, the titular character in the 1615 play Ignoramus by the English playwright Georges Ruggle; from Latin ignōrāmus (“we do not know, we are ignorant of”), the first-person plural present active indicative of īgnōrō (“I do not know, I am unacquainted with, I am ignorant of”).

Noun

ignoramus (plural ignoramuses or ignorami)

1. A totally ignorant person—unknowledgeable, uneducated, or uninformed; a fool.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:ignoramus

Translations

totally ignorant person

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 無知的人, 无知的人 (wúzhī de rén), 笨蛋 (cmn) (bèndàn), 愚人 (cmn) (yúrén)

• Czech: ignorant (cs) m
• Finnish: tomppeli (fi)
• Georgian: უვიცი (ka) (uvic'i)

• German: Ignorant (de) m
• Icelandic: fávís maður (is) m, fáfróður maður (is) m
• Russian: невежда (ru) (nevéžda) m and f, неуч (ru) (néuč) m and f, профан (ru) (profán) m, незнайка (ru) (neznájka) m and f
• Swedish: dumhuvud (sv)

Etymology 2

Directly from Latin ignōrāmus (“we do not know”).

Noun

ignoramus (plural ignoramuses)

1. (law, dated) A grand jury's ruling on an indictment when the evidence is determined to be insufficient to send the case to trial.

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Latin

Verb

īgnōrāmus

1. first-person plural present active indicative of īgnōrō

   ignoramus et ignorabimus

   We do not know and will not know