Extremely foolish or stupid; showing a lack of intelligence or good judgment.
From Greek 'idiotes,' originally meaning 'a private citizen' or 'a common person,' but evolved to mean 'ignorant person,' then 'fool.' The term became harsh through semantic deterioration over centuries.
The word 'idiot' started respectfully—ancient Greeks used 'idiotes' just to mean a regular citizen—but it gradually became an insult as society developed hierarchy, showing how language can encode social prejudice.
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