Where does “idiot” come from?
idiot (French) comes from Old French idiot, from Latin idiōta, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης, from Ancient Greek ἴδιος, from Proto-Hellenic *hwédios.
idiot (French): idiotic; stupid; idiot
Ancestry of “idiot”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | idiot | ignorant; narrow-minded |
| 2 | Latin | idiōta | idiot, an ignorant, uneducated or illiterate person |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | ἰδιώτης | a private person, one not engaged in public... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | ἴδιος | pertaining to self, that is, one's own; private;... |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | *hwédios | — |
Words derived from “idiot”