Where does “idiot box” come from?
idiot box (English) comes from English IDiot, from English ID, from Hindi ईद, from Persian عید, from Arabic عِيد, from Arabic محمد, from Arabic حَمَّدَ, from Arabic م.
idiot box (English): Television
Definitions
- Television
Ancestry of “idiot box”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | IDiot | A proponent of intelligent design |
| 2 | English | ID | Initialism of identification or identity... |
| 3 | Hindi | ईद | Eid |
| 4 | Persian | عید | feast, feast day; celebration; holiday |
| 5 | Arabic | عِيد | holiday, carnival; feast, festival; holiday,... |
| 6 | Arabic | محمد | commendable, laudable, praised, praiseworthy;... |
| 7 | Arabic | حَمَّدَ | to praise, commend, laud; to praise, commend,... |
| 8 | Arabic | م | a prefix used to create nouns of place; a prefix... |
| 9 | Proto-Semitic | šamaʿ- | — |