different between dunce vs moron

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

Etymology

Coined by psychologist Henry H. Goddard in 1910, from Ancient Greek ????? (m?rós, “foolish, dull”).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

moron (plural morons)

1. (informal, derogatory) A stupid person; an idiot; a fool.
2. (dated, originally) A person of mild mental subnormality in the former classification of mental retardation, having an intelligence quotient of 50–70.

   Synonym: feeble-minded

Usage notes

The current medical term for having an IQ between 50 and 70 is “mild intellectual disability”.

Synonyms

• Thesaurus:fool
• Thesaurus:idiot

Derived terms

• Baltimoron
• moronic
• moronicity
• moronism
• moronocracy

Related terms

• oxymoron
• sophomore

Translations

Further reading

• Moron (psychology) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Monro, normo-

Esperanto

Noun

moron

1. accusative singular of moro

French

Etymology

From English, from Ancient Greek ????? (m?rós, “foolish, dull”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /m?.???/

Noun

moron m (plural morons, feminine moronne)

1. (Quebec) moron, idiot

Adjective

moron (feminine singular moronne, masculine plural morons, feminine plural moronnes)

1. (Quebec, informal) stupid

Middle English

Noun

moron

1. Alternative form of morwe

Romanian

Noun

moron m (plural moroni)

1. Alternative form of morun

Declension

Turkish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mo??on]
• Hyphenation: mo?ron

Adjective

moron (comparative daha moron, superlative en moron)

1. fool, stupid, idiot, moronic

Noun

moron (definite accusative moronu, plural moronlar)

1. a moron

   Bir morona a??k oldum. — I fell in love with a moron.

Declension

Welsh

Etymology

From Old English moran, plural of more (“edible root, carrot, parsnip”), from Proto-West Germanic *morh?, from Proto-Germanic *murh?, from Proto-Indo-European *mr?k- (“edible herb, root, tuber”).

Noun

moron f pl (singulative moronen)

1. carrots

Mutation

Further reading

• "moron" in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru (A Dictionary of the Welsh Language). University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies, 2014.