English
idiocy
Idiocy comes from Old French idiot ‘ignorant’, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης ‘layman’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swé ‘self’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swé‘self’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*swéd-yo-sreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hwédiosreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἴδιοςídios‘private’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἰδιώτης‘layman’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEidiōta‘idiot, an ignorant, uneducated or illiterate person’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400idiot‘ignorant’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentidiotie
- Englishearliest quotation 1960idiocy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swé‘self’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*swéd-yo-sreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hwédiosreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἴδιοςídios‘private’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἰδιώτης‘layman’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEidiōta‘idiot, an ignorant, uneducated or illiterate person’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400idiot‘ignorant’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentidiotie
- Englishearliest quotation 1960idiocy
Earliest quotation: 1960, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird: “Well, Atticus, I was just sayin‘ to Mr. Cunningham…”
Formed from idiot + -cy
Proto-Indo-European *swé ‘self’
…
Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης ‘a private citizen’
Latin idiota ‘idiot’
Old French idiote
Middle English idiote
English idiot
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *swé ‘self’
such, self, solo, suicide, sole, solitary, sans, solitude, desolate, solitaire, swain, desolation, sullen, solus, sere, 19 more
through Latin idiōta ‘idiot, an ignorant, uneducated or illiterate…’
Today it means
noun The state or condition of being an idiot; the quality of having an intelligence level far below average.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *swé / idiocy