# idiot
## English
### Alternative forms

* idjit, idget (non-standard, indicating the pronunciation /ˈɪd͡ʒət/)
* eejit (Irish, Scottish; non-standard)

### Etymology

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.

### Pronunciation

* (UK, US) enPR: ĭdĭət, IPA: /ˈɪdiət/
* (yod coalescence, non-standard) IPA: /ˈɪd͡ʒət/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -iət
* Hyphenation: i‧di‧ot

### Noun

idiot (plural idiots)
* (derogatory) A person of low general intelligence.
    Only an idiot would fail this exam.
* (derogatory) A person who makes stupid decisions; a fool.
    We think that people who cycle without a helmet are idiots.
* (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.
** 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, 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.

#### Synonyms

* See also Thesaurus:idiot

#### Antonyms

* genius

#### Derived terms

* covidiot
* dipshidiot
* Floridiot
* IDiot
* idiot board
* idiot box
* idiot card
* idioted
* idiot end
* idiotese
* idiotfest
* idiot girl
* idiotic
* idiotish
* idiotism
* idiotist
* idiotize
* idiot light
* idiotlike
* idiotly
* idiot mittens
* idiotor
* idiotorial
* idiot-proof
* idiotry
* idiot-savant
* idiot sheet
* idiot stick
* idiot string
* idiot tape
* idiot tax
* Idiotville
* kiddiot
* mediot
* neo-idiot
* pyramidiot
* radiot
* televidiot
* twidiot
* useful idiot
* vidiot
* village idiot

#### Related terms

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

#### Translations

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

### Adjective

idiot (comparative more idiot, superlative most idiot)
* (uncommon) Idiotic, stupid.

#### Translations
## Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈɪdɪjot]
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: idiot

### Noun

idiot m anim (female equivalent idiotka)
* (mildly vulgar) idiot (disliked or slow-witted person)
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:hlupák
* idiot (person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old)

#### 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), 2008–2025

## Danish
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs).

### Noun

idiot
* (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

#### Derived terms

* idiotsikker
* kraftidiot

### 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: /i.djo/
* Audio:(file)
* Homophone: idiots
* Rhymes: -jo

### Adjective

idiot (feminine idiote, masculine plural idiots, feminine plural idiotes)
* idiotic; stupid

### Noun

idiot m (plural idiots, feminine idiote)
* 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)
* (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: /ɪd(ː)ɪˈuːt/

### Noun

idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idiotar, definite plural idiotane)
* (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 (oblique and nominative feminine singular idiote)
* 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

* Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX$^e$ au XV$^e$ siècle (1881) (idiot, supplement)

## 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: /i.diˈot/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

idiot m (plural idioți, feminine equivalent idioată)
* idiot; moron; imbecile
    Synonyms: cretin, imbecil, prost, tâmpit

#### Declension
### Adjective

idiot m or n (feminine singular idioată, masculine plural idioți, feminine and neuter plural idioate)
* stupid; idiotic; foolish; absurd
    Synonyms: prost, stupid, tâmpit

#### Declension
### References

* idiot in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /idǐot/
* Hyphenation: i‧di‧ot

### Noun

idìot m (Cyrillic spelling идѝот)
* idiot

#### See also

* glùpan
* blèsan
* krètēn

## Slovak
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈiɟiɔt]

### Noun

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

#### 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, 2003–2025

## 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: /ɪdɪˈuːt/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

idiot c
* (derogatory) an idiot
    Din idiotYou idiot
    Vilka idioterWhat idiots

#### Derived terms

* idiotanstalt
* idiotförklara
* idiothem
* idiotskola
* idiotsäker
* idiotundervisning
* idiotvård

#### Related terms

* idioti
* idiotisera
* idiotisk

### References

* idiot in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* idiot in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* idiot in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)