Plural of imbecile; people considered to be very foolish or stupid.
From Latin 'imbecillis,' possibly from 'in-' (not) and 'baculum' (staff or support), suggesting something weak or unsupported. The word entered English in the 16th century as a medical term for intellectual disability.
In medical history, 'imbecile' was an official classification for varying degrees of intellectual disability—but modern neuroscience has abandoned these old labels because we now understand that intelligence is complex and people with intellectual disabilities have unique strengths.
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