idiota

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish idiota, from Latin idiōta (“idiot”), from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “layman”) from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”). Doublet of idiot.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

idiota (plural idiotas)

1. (derogatory, slang, US) Fool or imbecile.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:fool

Etymology

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

Adjective

idiota m or f (masculine and feminine plural idiotes)

1. idiotic

Noun

idiota m or f by sense (plural idiotes)

1. idiot; fool

Derived terms

• idiotesa

Related terms

• idiòcia

Further reading

• “idiota” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “idiota”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “idiota” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “idiota” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Etymology

From idioto +‎ -a.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): [idiˈota]
• Rhymes: -ota
• Hyphenation: i‧di‧o‧ta

Adjective

idiota (accusative singular idiotan, plural idiotaj, accusative plural idiotajn)

1. idiotic

Etymology

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

Adjective

idiota m or f (plural idiotas)

1. idiotic, stupid

   Synonyms: babeco, papán, parvo, babiolo, pallouco, bolonio, estroso, doudo

Noun

idiota m or f by sense (plural idiotas)

1. idiot

Further reading

• “idiota”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈdjɔ.ta/
• Rhymes: -ɔta
• Hyphenation: i‧diò‧ta

Noun

idiota m or f by sense (masculine plural idioti, feminine plural idiote)

1. (derogatory) idiot, moron, maroon, clot

Adjective

idiota (masculine plural idioti, feminine plural idiote)

1. idiotic

Further reading

• idiota in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

iodati, odiati

Anagrams

• iodati, odiati

Alternative forms

• idiōtēs
• ydiōta (Medieval Latin)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “person not involved in public affairs, layman”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “private”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /i.diˈoː.ta/, [ɪd̪iˈoːt̪ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /i.diˈo.ta/, [id̪iˈɔːt̪ä]

Noun

idiōta m (genitive idiōtae); first declension

1. (derogatory) idiot, an ignorant, uneducated or illiterate person
2. (Medieval Latin) convert; conversus (lay brother)
3. (Medieval Latin) private person

References

• “idiota”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• idiota in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “idiota”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • a connoisseur; a specialist: (artis, artium) intellegens, peritus (opp. idiota, a layman)
    
• idiota in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• R. E. Latham, D. R. Howlett, & R. K. Ashdowne, editors (1975–2013), “idiota”, in Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources‎, London: Oxford University Press for the British Academy, →ISBN, →OCLC
• Niermeyer, Jan Frederik (1976) “idiota”, in Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden, Boston: E. J. Brill

Noun

idiota m

1. genitive singular of idiots

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈdjɔ.ta/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔta
• Syllabification: i‧dio‧ta

Noun

idiota m pers (female equivalent idiotka)

1. (derogatory) idiot

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:głupiec

2. (pathology, obsolete) person with severe mental retardation

Further reading

• idiota in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• idiota in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔtɐ
• Hyphenation: i‧dio‧ta

Adjective

idiota m or f (plural idiotas)

1. idiotic

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:idiota

Noun

idiota m or f by sense (plural idiotas)

1. idiot

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:idiota

Further reading

• “idiota”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈdjota/ [iˈð̞jo.t̪a]
• Rhymes: -ota
• Syllabification: i‧dio‧ta

Adjective

idiota m or f (masculine and feminine plural idiotas)

1. idiotic

Noun

idiota m or f by sense (plural idiotas)

1. (derogatory) idiot, moron, fool, dork, eejit
2. (derogatory) dick, jerk, schmuck, douchebag, asshole, ass, jackass, prick (i.e., a cocky or self-important individual without any foundation for it)

Further reading

• “idiota”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10