Meaning of idiot in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /ˈɪdiət/

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  1. Noun

    idiot

    Etymology

    Middle English (denoting a person of low intelligence): via Old French from Latin idiota‘ignorant person’, from Greek idiōtēs‘private person, layman, ignorant person’, from idios‘own, private’

    Definitions

    1. a person of subnormal intelligence

    Derived terms

Famous quotes

  • « Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day. »
    Samuel Goldwyn
  • « The worst gift that I ever gave a girl was a suitcase for Christmas. As in, 'I can't think of anything to give you, but here's a new suitcase.' Afterward, I was like, 'What were you thinking, idiot?' »
    Jensen Ackles
  • « Comic books aren't nerdy. You'd have to be an idiot to think computers are nerdy. »
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  • « I really love idiot, enlightened characters - these characters who fail to engage with the drama of their immediate circumstances they fail to be reactive and enrolled by drama as it happens around them. »
    Chuck Palahniuk
  • « Golf appeals to the idiot in us and the child. Just how childlike golf players become is proven by their frequent inability to count past five. »
    John Updike

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