idiota

See also: idiotā and idióta

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish idiota, from Latin idiōta (“idiot”), from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).

Noun

idiota (plural idiotas)

1. (derogatory, slang, US) fool or imbecile

---

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).

Adjective

idiota m or f (masculine and feminine plural idiotes)

1. idiotic

Noun

idiota m or f (plural idiotes)

1. idiot; fool

Derived terms

• idiotesa

Related terms

• idiòcia

Further reading

• “idiota” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “idiota”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “idiota” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “idiota” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

---

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).

Noun

idiota m or f (masculine plural idioti, feminine plural idiote)

1. (derogatory) idiot, moron, maroon, clot

Adjective

1. idiotic

Derived terms

• idiotaggine

Related terms

• idiotismo
• idiozia

Anagrams

iodati, odiati

Further reading

• idiota in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

---

Latin

Alternative forms

• idiōtēs

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “person not involved in public affairs, layman”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /i.diˈoː.ta/, [ɪd̪iˈoːt̪ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /i.diˈo.ta/, [id̪iˈɔːt̪ä]

Noun

idiōta m (genitive idiōtae); first declension

1. (derogatory) idiot
2. (Medieval Latin) indigenous, rustic, opposite of foreign.
   • 1678, du Cange, Glossarium mediæ et infimæ latinitatis, page 284a:

     Testis fuit, se vidisse Presbyterum de Hienvilla, servos et liberos parochiales ex debito ad sepulturam suscepisse, seque interfuisse ; Presbyterum vero Puteacensem in præsentia Presbyteri de Hienvilla tantummodo locum suscepisse idiotæ. i.

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	idiōta	idiōtae
Genitive	idiōtae	idiōtārum
Dative	idiōtae	idiōtīs
Accusative	idiōtam	idiōtās
Ablative	idiōtā	idiōtīs
Vocative	idiōta	idiōtae

Descendants

Descendants

• → Catalan: idiota
• English: idiot
• → Spanish: idiota
  • → English: idiota
• French: idiot
  • → Romanian: idiot
• → Italian: idiota
• → Polish: idiota
• → Portuguese: idiota
• → Serbo-Croatian: idiot
• → Slovak: idiot

References

• “idiota”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “idiota”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• idiota in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• idiota in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • a connoisseur; a specialist: (artis, artium) intellegens, peritus (opp. idiota, a layman)
    

---

Latvian

Noun

idiota m

1. (deprecated template usage) genitive singular form of idiots

---

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): //idˈjɔ.ta//

• audio:

  (file)

Noun

idiota m pers (female equivalent idiotka)

1. idiot
2. (medicine, obsolete) person with severe mental retardation

Usage notes

In obsolete medical usage, idiota referred to severe cases of developmental disability. Milder forms were described with the words imbecyl and debil.

Declension

Declension of idiota

	singular	plural
nominative	idiota	idioci/idioty (deprecative)
genitive	idioty	idiotów
dative	idiocie	idiotom
accusative	idiotę	idiotów
instrumental	idiotą	idiotami
locative	idiocie	idiotach
vocative	idioto	idioci

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:głupiec

Derived terms

• idiotyczny
• idiotyzm

---

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [i.ˈðjɔ.tɐ]
• IPA^(key): /i.ˈd͡ʒjɔ.tɐ/, [i.ˈd͡ʒɔ.ta]
• Hyphenation: i‧dio‧ta
• Rhymes: -ɔtɐ

Adjective

idiota m or f (plural idiotas)

1. idiotic

Synonyms

• (idiotic): See here

Noun

idiota m or f (plural s)

1. idiot

Synonyms

• (idiot): See here

Related terms

• idiotia
• idiotice

Further reading

• Template:R:Priberam

---

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈdjota/ [iˈð̞jo.t̪a]

Adjective

idiota m or f (masculine and feminine plural idiotas)

1. idiotic

Noun

idiota m or f (plural idiotas)

1. (derogatory) idiot, moron, fool, dork, eejit
2. (derogatory) dick, jerk, schmuck, douchebag, asshole, ass, jackass, prick (i.e., a cocky or self-important individual without any foundation for it)

Related terms

• idiotez

Further reading

• “idiota”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014