different between dunce vs nitwit
dunce
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)
- 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
dunce From the web:
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nitwit
English
Etymology
First attested in the 1910s in the US Northeast. Likely from German nit, dialectal form of nichts (“nothing”), or Yiddish ???? (nit), dialectal form of ????? (nisht, “no”), although some dictionaries give the alternative etymology nit (“louse egg; something very small”) +? wit.
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /?n?tw?t/
Noun
nitwit (plural nitwits)
- (informal) A scatterbrained or stupid person.
- 1918, State Bar Association of Connecticut, Annual Report, page 82
- If you don't remember you are a nitwit. If you do answer, well, you know what the penalty is for perjury.
- 1921, Emmett Campbell Hall, "Need a Hero be a Nitwit?", The Editor, page 58
- 1918, State Bar Association of Connecticut, Annual Report, page 82
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:fool
Translations
nitwit From the web:
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- what are nitwits in minecraft
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- what do nitwits do in minecraft
- what is nitwit blubber oddment tweak
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