idiot — ODE · Shobdo

idiot /ˈɪdiət

▸ noun

1 derogatory a stupid person:

I feel like an idiot who swallowed every lie I was told

the drivers around here are complete idiots.

2 Medicine archaic a person having an intellectual disability:

he entered their employ and learnt their secrets by pretending to be an idiot.

– ORIGIN Middle English (denoting a person of low intelligence): via Old French from Latin idiota ‘ignorant person’, from Greek idiōtēs ‘private person, layman, ignorant person’, from idios ‘own, private’.