A foolish or stupid person; someone who lacks intelligence or common sense.
A compound word combining 'half' and 'wit,' where 'wit' originally meant intelligence or cleverness (from Old English 'witan' meaning 'to know'). The word suggests someone has only half the mental ability they should.
The word 'wit' used to just mean 'intelligence' in Old English, which is why we still say someone 'has their wits about them' when they're alert and sharp—but call someone a 'halfwit' when they're not!
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