idiot

See also: Idiot and IDiot

Languages (12)

English

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Czech • Danish • French • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old French • Papiamentu • Romanian • Serbo-Croatian • Slovak • Swedish

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Page categories

English

Alternative forms

• idjit, idget (nonstandard, indicating the pronunciation /ˈɪd͡ʒət/)
• eejit (Ireland, Scotland, nonstandard)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *swé

Proto-Indo-European *swéd-yo-s

Proto-Hellenic *hwédios

Ancient Greek ἴδιος (ídios)

Ancient Greek -ώτης (-ṓtēs)

Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs)

Latin idiotalbor.

Old French idiotebor.

Middle English ydiote

English idiot

From Middle English idiote, ydiote, from Old French idiote (later idiot), from Latin idiota, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private”). Doublet of idiota. By surface analysis, idi- +‎ -ot.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: ĭdĭət, IPA^(key): /ˈɪdiət/
• (yod-coalescence, nonstandard) IPA^(key): /ˈɪd͡ʒət/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: id‧i‧ot

Noun

idiot (plural idiots)

2. (derogatory) A person of low general intelligence.

   Synonyms: imbecile, moron, retard (offensive); see also Thesaurus:fool, Thesaurus:idiot

   Only an idiot would fail this exam.

   After failing a hat-trick of exams, the teacher called him an idiot.

3. (derogatory) A person who makes stupid decisions; a fool.

   He thought people who don't like cricket are idiots. He later got into fights with people who like football.

   We think that people who cycle without a helmet are idiots.

   • 2019 October 28, Devan Cole, “Biden calls Trump an ‘idiot’ for dismissing Russian election interference”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     “He’s an idiot – in terms of saying that. Everybody knows this. Everybody knows it. Nobody doubts it,” Biden said.

   • 2024 November 21, Andrew Kaczynski, “RFK Jr. compared Trump to Hitler and praised descriptions of his supporters as ‘Nazis’”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     “One of the things that you write so beautifully, and your stuff is so fun to read, but you write about Trump, quote, ‘The way that you build a truly vicious nationalist movement is to wed a relatively small core of belligerent idiots to a much larger group of opportunists and spineless fellow travelers whose primary function is to turn a blind eye to things,’” Kennedy said, reading Taibbi’s own writing back to him.

5. (obsolete, medicine, psychology) A person of the lowest intellectual standing, a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old; a person with an IQ below 30.

   Synonyms: imbecile, moron, retard (offensive)

   • 1896, Clifton Johnson, “Folks”, in What They Say in New England (non-fiction), Boston, Massachusetts, United States: Lee and Shepard Publishers, page 105:

     Idiots were thought to be peculiarly under the care of the Deity, and it was believed that those who treated them kindly would be blessed.

   • 1956, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Part I, section 7”, in Sexual Offences Act 1956‎^[3], page 2:

     It is an offence for a man to have unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman whom he knows to be an idiot or imbecile.

Usage notes

• While pejorative, the word is only a weak insult, and between close friends or family members it may be used affectionately.

Derived terms

• cidiot
• covidiot
• dipshidiot
• Floridiot
• idiocracy
• IDiot
• idiotacy
• idiot board
• idiot box
• idiot card
• idiotcy
• idioted
• idiot end
• idiotery
• idiotese
• idiotfest
• idiot girl
• idiotic
• idioticy
• idiotish
• idiotism
• idiotist
• idiotize
• idiot light
• idiotlike
• idiotly
• idiot mittens
• idiotness
• idiotor
• idiotorial
• idiot-proof
• idiotry
• idiot sandwich
• idiot-savant
• idiot sheet
• idiot stick
• idiot string
• Idiotsville
• idiot tape
• idiot tax
• Idiotville
• kiddiot
• mediot
• neo-idiot
• pyramidiot
• radiot
• shidiot, shitiot
• televidiot
• twidiot
• useful idiot
• vidiot
• village idiot

Related terms

• idiocy
• idiom
• idiosyncratic
• idiotic
• idiotically
• idiot savant
• useful idiot

Translations

person of low general intelligence

• Albanian: idiot (sq) m, budalla (sq) m, gomar (sq) m
• Arabic: أَحْمَق m (ʔaḥmaq), غَبِيّ m (ḡabiyy), مُغَفَّل m (muḡaffal), أَبْلَه m (ʔablah), عَبِيط m (ʕabīṭ)

  Egyptian Arabic: عبيط m (ʕabīṭ), أهبل m (ʔahbal)

  Hijazi Arabic: غَبي m (ḡabi), أهْبَل m (ʔahbal), ْأبْلَه m (ʔablah), سَبَك m (sabak)

• Armenian: ապուշ (hy) (apuš), հիմար (hy) (himar), էշ (hy) (ēš)
• Azerbaijani: idiot (az), axmaq (az), əbləh, abdal
• Basque: ergel
• Belarusian: ду́рань m (dúranʹ), дурні́ца f (durníca), ідыёт m (idyjót), ідыётка f (idyjótka)
• Bengali: মূর্খ (bn) (murkho), বেক্কল (bn) (bekkol)
• Bikol:

  Central Bikol: dangag (bcl), patal (bcl)

• Bulgarian: идио́т (bg) m (idiót), идио́тка f (idiótka), абда́л (bg) m (abdál), ахма́к (bg) m (ahmák), глупа́к (bg) m (glupák), глупа́чка f (glupáčka)
• Burmese: ဗာလ (my) (bala.)
• Catalan: idiota (ca) m or f
• Chichewa: chitsiru
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 死蠢 (sei² ceon²), 白痴 (baak⁶ ci¹), 戇鳩 / 戆鸠 (ngong⁶ gau¹)

  Mandarin: 白痴 (zh) (báichī), 傻子 (zh) (shǎzi), 蠢貨 / 蠢货 (zh) (chǔnhuò), 傻瓜 (zh) (shǎguā), 笨蛋 (zh) (bèndàn), 蠢材 (zh) (chǔncái), 呆子 (zh) (dāizi)

• Comorian:

  Ngazidja Comorian: ɗaɓa class 5/6

• Czech: idiot (cs) m, idiotka f
• Danish: idiot (da) c, nar c, fjols n
• Dutch: idioot (nl) m, domkop (nl) m, nar (nl) m, domme gans f (for women)
• Esperanto: idioto, stultulo (eo)
• Estonian: idioot, lollpea (et), oinas (et)
• Finnish: idiootti (fi), hölmö (fi), pöljä (fi), törttö, typerys (fi), urpo (fi)
• French: idiot (fr) m, idiote (fr) f, imbécile (fr) m or f, bouffon (fr) m, bouffonne (fr) f, crétin (fr) m, crétine (fr) f
• Galician: babeco (gl) m, parvo (gl) m, mascato m, babiolo (gl) m, doudo m, pallouco m, lores m, paspán (gl) m, alpabarda (gl) m, mouco (gl) m, marmeco m, láparo m, inteño m, miñoto m, bouto m, idiota m
• Georgian: იდიოტი (idioṭi), ახმახი (axmaxi)
• German: Idiot (de) m, Idiotin (de) f, Narr (de) m, Närrin (de) f, Dummkopf (de) m, dumme Gans f (for women), dumme Kuh f (for women)
• Greek: βλάκας (el) m (vlákas), ηλίθιος (el) m (ilíthios)

  Ancient Greek: βλάξ m (bláx)

• Gujarati: ડોબું n (ḍobũ), મૂર્ખ m (mūrkh), મૂઢ m (mūḍh)
• Hebrew: אִידְיוֹט (he) m (idyót), גולם \ גֹּלֶם (he) (gólem), שׁוֹטֶה (he) m (shoté)
• Hindi: मूर्ख (hi) m (mūrkh), बुद्धू m (buddhū), उल्लू (hi) m (ullū), बेवक़ूफ़ (hi) m (bevqūf), अहमक़ m (ahmaq), अहमक (hi) m (ahmak)
• Hungarian: idióta (hu), (colloquial) hülye (hu), (literary) félkegyelmű (hu)
• Icelandic: hálviti m, asni (is) m, grasasni (is) m, skynskiptingur m (obsolete)
• Indonesian: bodoh (id)
• Ingrian: durakka, vohma, hapalka, oolo, tuhkuri, tuhkapää, tuhkapussi, foofana, bolvana
• Irish: amadán, dúramán m
• Italian: idiota (it) m or f, squasimodeo m
• Japanese: 馬鹿 (ja) (ばか, baka), あほ (ja) (aho), 白痴 (ja) (はくち, hakuchi), 戯け者 (たわけもの, tawakemono, おどけもの, odokemono)
• Kazakh: ақымақ (aqımaq), идиот (ıydıyot)
• Khmer: ល្ងីល្ងើ (km) (lngii lngəə)
• Korean: 백치(白癡)(白痴) (baekchi), 바보 (ko) (babo), 등신(等神) (ko) (deungsin), 멍청이 (ko) (meongcheong'i), 천치(天癡)(天痴) (ko) (cheonchi)
• Kyrgyz: акмак (ky) (akmak), идиот (ky) (idiot)
• Ladin: totl m, musciat
• Lao: ຄົນບັດຊົບ (khon bat sop), ຄົນໂງ່ (khon ngō), ໂງ່ (ngō)
• Latin: blennus m, idiota m, fungus m
• Latvian: idiots m, idiote f, muļķis (lv) m, muļķe f, duraks (lv) m
• Lithuanian: idiotas m, idiotė f, avigalvis m, kvailys (lt) m, durnius m
• Luhya: omsilu
• Macedonian: абдал m (abdal), идио́т m (idiót), идио́тка f (idiótka)
• Malay: bodoh (ms)
• Malayalam: കണ്ണാപ്പി (kaṇṇāppi), പൊട്ട​ൻ (poṭṭa​ṉ)
• Manx: thoot m
• Māori: hukehuke, heahea, rorirori, pōhauhau, hākawa
• Marshallese: bōkāro
• Middle English: sot
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: эргүү тэнэг (ergüü teneg), зүүлэг (mn) (züüleg), тэнэг (mn) (teneg)

• Norman: peûle m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: idiot (no) m, narr (no) m

  Nynorsk: idiot m

• Old English: unwita m
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: اَحْمَق (ahmaġ), کُوْدَن (kowdan), خِنْگ (xeng), اَبْلَهْ (ablah), کانا (fa) (kânâ), خِرِفْت (xereft)

• Plautdietsch: Eefelt m, Dommajon m
• Polish: idiota (pl) m, idiotka (pl) f, głupek (pl) m, głupiec (pl) m, dureń (pl) m
• Portuguese: idiota (pt) m or f
• Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi: ਮੂਰਖ m (mūrakh), ਬੇਵਕੂਫ਼ m (bevkūf)

• Romanian: idiot (ro) m, idioată (ro) f, idioți pl, idioate f pl
• Russian: идио́т (ru) m (idiót), идио́тка (ru) f (idiótka), дура́к (ru) m (durák), ду́ра (ru) f (dúra), ду́рень (ru) m (dúrenʹ), глупе́ц (ru) m (glupéc)
• Sanskrit: मूढ (sa) m (mūḍha), निर्बुद्धि (sa) m (nirbuddhi), मूर्ख (sa) m (mūrkha), जल (sa) m (jala)
• Scots: stookie
• Scottish Gaelic: amadan m, òinseach f, burraidh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: идѝот m, идѝоткиња f

  Latin: idìot (sh) m, idìotkinja (sh) f

• Sikkimese: གླན་པོ (glan po)
• Slovak: idiot m, idiotka f
• Slovene: idiot m, tepec m
• Spanish: idiota (es) m or f
• Swahili: mjinga (sw), kichwamaji (sw)
• Swedish: idiot (sv) c, narr (sv) c
• Tagalog: bobo (tl), tanga (tl), ungas
• Tajik: аблаҳ (tg) (ablah), аҳмақ (tg) (ahmaq)
• Tamil: முட்டாள் (ta) (muṭṭāḷ), அறிவிலி (ta) (aṟivili), லூசு (ta) (lūcu)
• Tatar: ахмак (tt) (axmaq)
• Telugu: వెధవ (vedhava)
• Thai: คนโง่ (kon-ngôo), ไอ้งั่ง, คนโง่เง่า, คนบ้า, คนปัญญาอ่อน, โง่ (th) (ngôo), ควาย (th) (kwaai)
• Turkish: salak (tr), ahmak (tr), aptal (tr), geri zekâlı, bön (tr), avanak (tr), andaval (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: طوی (toy)

• Turkmen: akmak (tk)
• Ukrainian: ідіо́т m (idiót), ідіо́тка f (idiótka), ду́рень (uk) m (dúrenʹ), дуре́па (uk) f (durépa), ду́рка f (dúrka), йо́лоп (uk) m (jólop)
• Urdu: مُورْکھ m (mūrkh), بیوَقُوف m (bevaqūf), بے وُقُوف m (be vuqūf), اُلُّو m (ullū), بُدُّھو m (buddhū), اَحْمَق m (ahmaq), گاؤدی m (gāodī)
• Uyghur: ئەخمەق (exmeq)
• Uzbek: idiot, ahmoq (uz), ablah (uz)
• Vietnamese: thằng ngốc, thằng ngu
• Volapük: (♂♀) diotan (vo), (♂) hidiotan, (♀) jidiotan
• Welsh: twpsyn m, ynfytyn (cy) m
• West Frisian: idioat c
• Yiddish: אידיאָט m (idyot), נאַר m (nar), שוטה m (shoyte)
• Zhuang: vunzbamz

person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old

• Bulgarian: идио́т (bg) m (idiót)
• Dutch: idioot (nl) m
• Greek: ιδιώτης (el) m (idiótis), μικρόνους (el) m (mikrónous)
• Hindi: बालबुद्धि (hi) (bālbuddhi)
• Latvian: idiots m, idiote f
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: کالیو (fa) (kâliv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Woiwurrung: ^{(please verify)} nganga-dak-ki-no

Adjective

idiot (comparative more idiot, superlative most idiot)

1. (uncommon) Idiotic, stupid.

Translations

idiotic — see idiotic

Further reading

• idiot on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɪdɪjot]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: idiot

Noun

idiot m anim (female equivalent idiotka)

1. (mildly vulgar) idiot (disliked or slow-witted person)

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:hlupák

2. idiot (person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old)

Declension

Declension of idiot (hard masculine animate)

	singular	plural
nominative	idiot	idioti, idiotové
genitive	idiota	idiotů
dative	idiotovi, idiotu	idiotům
accusative	idiota	idioty
vocative	idiote	idioti, idiotové
locative	idiotovi, idiotu	idiotech
instrumental	idiotem	idioty

Related terms

• idiocie
• idiotský

Further reading

• “idiot”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “idiot”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “idiot”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Danish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).

Noun

idiot c (singular definite idioten, plural indefinite idioter)

1. (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

   Synonyms: tåbe, fjols

Declension

Declension of idiot

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	idiot	idioten	idioter	idioterne
genitive	idiots	idiotens	idioters	idioternes

Derived terms

• idiotsikker
• kraftidiot
• idiotanstalt

Related terms

• idiotisk
• idioti

References

• “idiot” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Etymology

From Old French idiot (cf. also the older form idiote), borrowed from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.djo/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Homophone: idiots
• Rhymes: -jo

Adjective

idiot (feminine idiote, masculine plural idiots, feminine plural idiotes)

1. idiotic; stupid

Noun

idiot m (plural idiots, feminine idiote)

1. idiot

Derived terms

• idiot du village

Descendants

• → Polish: idiota

Further reading

• “idiot”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).

Noun

idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idioter, definite plural idiotene)

1. (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

Derived terms

• idiotsikker
• kraftidiot
• kronidiot

References

• “idiot” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪd(ː)ɪˈuːt/

Noun

idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idiotar, definite plural idiotane)

1. (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

Derived terms

• idiotsikker
• kraftidiot
• kronidiot

References

• “idiot” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old French

Alternative forms

• idiote

Etymology

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

Adjective

idiot m (feminine idiote)

1. ignorant; narrow-minded

Usage notes

• The form idiote was sometimes used as both masculine and feminine, as a direct borrowing from Latin idiota.

Descendants

• → English: idiot
• French: idiot

References

• Frédéric Godefroy (1880–1902), “idiot”, in Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle […], Paris: F[riedrich] Vieweg; Émile Bouillon, →OCLC.

Papiamentu

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *swé

Proto-Indo-European *swéd-yo-s

Proto-Hellenic *hwédios

Ancient Greek ἴδιος (ídios)

Ancient Greek -ώτης (-ṓtēs)

Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs)

Latin idiotader.

Papiamentu idiot

Derived from Latin idiota.

Adjective

idiot

1. idiot

Romanian

Alternative forms

• идиот (idiot) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.diˈot/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

idiot m (plural idioți, feminine equivalent idioată)

1. idiot; moron; imbecile

   Synonyms: cretin, imbecil, prost, tâmpit

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	idiot	idiotul	idioți	idioții
genitive-dative	idiot	idiotului	idioți	idioților
vocative	idiotule		idioților

Adjective

idiot m or n (feminine singular idioată, masculine plural idioți, feminine/neuter plural idioate)

1. stupid; idiotic; foolish; absurd

   Synonyms: prost, stupid, tâmpit

Declension

Declension of idiot

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	idiot		idioată	idioți	idioate
	definite	idiotul		idioata	idioții	idioatele
genitive- dative	indefinite	idiot		idioate	idioți	idioate
	definite	idiotului		idioatei	idioților	idioatelor

References

• “idiot”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /idǐot/
• Hyphenation: i‧di‧ot

Noun

idìot m anim or m inan (Cyrillic spelling идѝот)

1. idiot
2. (Serbia) teleprompter

   Synonym: blèsimetar (Croatia)

Declension

Declension of idiot

	singular	plural
nominative	idìot	idioti
genitive	idiòta	idiota
dative	idiotu	idiotima
accusative	idiota / idiot	idiote
vocative	idiote	idioti
locative	idiotu	idiotima
instrumental	idiotom	idiotima

See also

• glùpan
• blèsan
• krètēn

Slovak

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *swé

Proto-Indo-European *swéd-yo-s

Proto-Hellenic *hwédios

Ancient Greek ἴδιος (ídios)

Ancient Greek -ώτης (-ṓtēs)

Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs)

Latin idiōtader.

Slovak idiot

Derived from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iɟiɔt/, [ˈiɟiɔt]
• Rhymes: -iɔt
• Hyphenation: i‧di‧ot

Noun

idiot m pers (female equivalent idiotka, relational adjective idiotský)

1. (derogatory) idiot

Declension

Declension of idiot
(pattern chlap)

	singular	plural
nominative	idiot	idioti
genitive	idiota	idiotov
dative	idiotovi	idiotom
accusative	idiota	idiotov
locative	idiotovi	idiotoch
instrumental	idiotom	idiotmi

Derived terms

• idiotický
• idioticky
• idiotstvo
• idiotizmus

See also

• blázon
• hlupák

Further reading

• “idiot”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Swedish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪdɪˈuːt/

• Audio:

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Noun

idiot c

1. (derogatory) an idiot

   Din idiot

   You idiot

   Vilka idioter

   What idiots

Declension

Declension of idiot

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	idiot	idiots
	definite	idioten	idiotens
plural	indefinite	idioter	idioters
	definite	idioterna	idioternas

Derived terms

• idiotanstalt
• idiotförklara
• idiothem
• idiotskola
• idiotsäker
• idiotundervisning
• idiotvård

Related terms

• idioti
• idiotisera
• idiotisk

References

• “idiot”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “idiot”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “idiot”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)