English
abderitism
Abderitism comes from German Abderit ‘foolish person’, from Ancient Greek Ἀβδηρῑ́της ‘Abderite’, and ultimately from Ἄβδηρα.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἌβδηρα‘Abdera’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἈβδηρῑ́τηςAbdērī́tēs‘Abderite’
- Germanc. 1650–presentAbderit‘foolish person’
- German, derivedc. 1650–presentAbderitismus
- Englishearliest quotation 1886abderitism
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἌβδηρα‘Abdera’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἈβδηρῑ́τηςAbdērī́tēs‘Abderite’
- Germanc. 1650–presentAbderit‘foolish person’
- German, derivedc. 1650–presentAbderitismus
- Englishearliest quotation 1886abderitism
Earliest quotation: 1886, R. A. K., Overproduction and Tea Culture: “This one example of Abderitism will suffice for my…”
Formed from Abderite + -ism
Ancient Greek Ἄβδηρα ‘Abdera’
Ancient Greek Ἀβδηρίτης ‘an inhabitant of Abdera: Abderite, Abderian’
Latin Abderita ‘Democritus’
English Abderite
The story
From German Abderitismus, from Abderit (‘foolish person’) + -ismus (‘-ism’), from Ancient Greek Ἀβδηρῑ́της (Abdērī́tēs, “Abderite”) because of the Abderites’ famed foolishness and stupidity in classical Greece. It is equivalent to Abderite + -ism. The German term was coined by the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) in Der Streit der Fakultäten (The Conflict of the Faculties, 1798).
Every English word from Ancient Greek Ἄβδηρα
Today it means
noun The theory that humanity's morality will never advance beyond its present state.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek Ἄβδηρα / abderitism