IDIOT
What does "IDIOT" mean?
An insulting term for a foolish or senseless person.
Meanings
- A stupid or foolish person (insulting). Only an idiot would text while crossing the highway. informal
- In ancient Athens, a private citizen who took no part in public life. To the Greeks, an idiot was simply a person absorbed in their own affairs. archaic
Did you know?
- To the ancient Athenians an 'idiotes' was just a private citizen who stayed out of public life - the word only meant 'one minding his own business', and the insult was added by later centuries.
Word origin
From Greek 'idiotes', a private person, a layman who held no public office, from 'idios' (one's own); the Greeks faintly scorned such a person as ignorant of civic life, and the contempt sharpened over centuries into the modern insult.
Remember it
IDIOT and IDIOM both start with the Greek 'idios', 'one's own' - the idiot was once just a man keeping to his own affairs.
A little poem
Once it just meant 'one who keeps apart' -
the city's scorn supplied the foolish part.
couplet
Wordplay
- Call me an idiot if you like - in ancient Athens that just meant I skip the city council meetings, which, honestly, fair.
What it teaches
The Greeks thought withdrawing from public life made you an idiot - a warning, perhaps, that a citizen who tunes everything out becomes one.
Quick facts
What does IDIOT mean?
An insulting term for a foolish or senseless person.
Is IDIOT a valid word?
Yes — IDIOT is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is IDIOT?
IDIOT has 5 letters and 3 syllables.
Where does IDIOT come from?
From Greek 'idiotes', a private person, a layman who held no public office, from 'idios' (one's own); the Greeks faintly scorned such a person as ignorant of civic life, and the contempt sharpened over centuries into the modern insult.
What can IDIOT teach us?
The Greeks thought withdrawing from public life made you an idiot - a warning, perhaps, that a citizen who tunes everything out becomes one.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.