Jumat, 26 Februari 2010

What is the origin of the word "idiot"?


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Why
: Some idiot marine dropped a grenade on the freeway in Orange County.

Answer: It comes from the Greeks!
Idiot originates from the Greek word ἰδιώτης, idiōtēs (idiotes), which refers to a person disinterested in participating in democracy and public life. These people were viewed as selfish, contemptible and stupid as they were more concerned with their daily personal affairs than they were of the good of the society.
Well, maybe. Others say the Greek word meant "person lacking professional skill," "a private citizen," "individual," coming from ἴδιος, idios, "private," "one's own."

Later in the Middle Ages, the word took on additional connotations associated with being stupid, such as being mentally incapable.

Source: Online Cortex, Yahoo! Answers

The More You Know: The word moron was originally a scientific term, coined around 1912 by psychologist Henry Goddard from a Greek word meaning "dull" or "foolish." It was used on the English version of the "Binet Scale" of human intelligence, the basis of today's IQ test. The Binet Scale went approximately as follows:
  • Normal - 85-115
  • Deficient - 71-84
  • Moron - 51-70
  • Imbecile - 26-50
  • Idiot - 0-25

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