IDIOTISM

Etymology 1

Noun

idiotism (countable and uncountable, plural idiotisms)

(now, chiefly, historical) Very severe mental retardation.

A foolish utterance.

Etymology 2

Noun

idiotism (plural idiotisms)

Idiom.

An overly literal translation of an idiom.

Source: Wiktionary


Id"i*ot*ism, n. Etym: [F. idiotisme, L. idiotismus the way of fashion of a private person, the common or vulgar manner of speaking, Gr. Idiot.]

1. An idiom; a form, mode of expression, or signification, peculiar to a language. Scholars sometimes give terminations and idiotisms, suitable to their native language, unto words newly invented. M. Hale.

2. Lack of knowledge or mental capacity; idiocy; foolishness. Worse than mere ignorance or idiotism. Shaftesbury. The running that adventure is the greatist idiotism. Hammond.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 February 2025

BARGAIN

(noun) an advantageous purchase; “she got a bargain at the auction”; “the stock was a real buy at that price”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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