Where does “dickwit” come from?
dickwit (English) comes from English Dick, from English declaration, from Middle English declaration, from Old French declaration, from Latin declaratio, from Latin -tiō, from Latin dissertātiō, from Latin dissertus — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.
dickwit (English): An objectionably stupid person
Definitions
- An objectionably stupid person
Ancestry of “dickwit”, step by step
dickwit traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Dick
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Dick | A male person |
| 2 | English | declaration | A written or oral indication of a fact, opinion,... |
| 3 | Middle English | declaration | — |
| 4 | Old French | declaration | — |
| 5 | Latin | declaratio | The act of making clear; a disclosure,... |
| 6 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 7 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 8 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 9 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 10 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 11 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 12 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 13 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via English Wit
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Wit | Sanity |
| 2 | English | with | Against; In the company of; alongside, close to;... |
| 3 | Middle English | wiþ | with |
| 4 | Old English | wiþ | against, opposite; along, towards; with |
| 5 | Old English | wiþer | toward, against; again, against; against, in... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | wiþr | toward, against |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | wiþrą | toward, against |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wī-tero- | further apart |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wi | apart, asunder; away from, against |