different between dunce vs ignoramus

English

Etymology

1530, named after John Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308).

Scotus was ironically a well-known Scottish thinker. His followers, however, opposed the philosophers of the Renaissance, and thus "dunce" was first used to describe someone rejecting new knowledge in 1530; later, any stupid person.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d?ns/
• Rhymes: -?ns

Noun

dunce (plural dunces)

1. An unintelligent person.

   Synonyms: idiot; see also Thesaurus:idiot

   • 1855, Robert Browning, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”, XXX:

     [...] Dunce, / Dotard, a-dozing at the very nonce, / After a life spent training for the sight!

Derived terms

• dunce cap
• duncedom
• dunce hat
• duncehood
• duncelike
• duncely
• duncish/dunceish

Translations

Further reading

• “dunce”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

References

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??n???e?m?s/
• Rhymes: -e?m?s

Etymology 1

After the ignorant lawyer Ignoramus, the titular character in the 1615 play Ignoramus by the English playwright Georges Ruggle; from Latin ign?r?mus (“we do not know, we are ignorant of”), the first-person plural present active indicative of ign?r? (“I do not know, I am unacquainted with, I am ignorant of”).

Alternative forms

• ignoramous

Noun

ignoramus (plural ignoramuses)

1. A totally ignorant person—unknowledgeable, uneducated, or uninformed; a fool.

Usage notes

The hyper-correct plural form ignorami is seen by most as humorous and non-standard, as the word derives from a Latin verb, not from a noun.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:ignoramus

Translations

Etymology 2

Directly from Latin ign?r?mus (“we do not know”).

Noun

ignoramus (plural ignoramuses)

1. (law, dated) A grand jury's ruling on an indictment when the evidence is determined to be insufficient to send the case to trial.

Anagrams

• origanums

Latin

Verb

ign?r?mus

1. first-person plural present active indicative of ign?r?