feeble-minded
See also: feebleminded
English
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]Etymology tree
Adjective
[edit]feeble-minded (comparative more feeble-minded or feebler-minded, superlative most feeble-minded or feeblest-minded)
- Weak in intellectual power; lacking firmness or constancy; lacking intelligence.
- Synonyms: irresolute, vacillating, imbecile
- 2019 May 28, Ariane de Vogue, “Why Clarence Thomas wrote over a dozen pages on eugenics”, in CNN[1]:
- Wading through history, he noted that some eugenicists believed that the “distinction between the fit and the unfit could be drawn along racial lines,” and others would define a person as “feeble-minded.”
Usage notes
[edit]This term was used loosely in the late 19th and the early 20th century to describe a variety of mental deficiencies, often in a medical context (as were cretin, idiot, imbecile and moron). It was originally not meant to be considered a pejorative term. By the mid-20th century, it was no longer used in medical contexts and became considered a pejorative.
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]unintelligent
|
References
[edit]- “feeble-minded”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.