different between idiot vs sawney

English

Alternative forms

• eejit (Irish English, eye dialect)
• idjit, idget (eye dialect)

Etymology

From Middle English idiote, ydiote, from Old French idiote (later idiot), from Latin idiota, from Ancient Greek ??????? (idi?t?s, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”), from ????? (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /??d.i.(j)?t/, /??d.i.(j)?t/

Noun

idiot (plural idiots)

1. (derogatory) A person of low general intelligence.
2. (derogatory) A person who makes stupid decisions; a fool.
3. (obsolete, medicine, psychology) A person of the lowest intellectual standing, a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old; a person with an IQ below 30.

Usage notes

• While pejorative, the word is only a weak insult, and between close friends or family members it may be used affectionately.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:idiot

Antonyms

• genius

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

idiot (comparative more idiot, superlative most idiot)

1. (uncommon) idiotic, stupid

Translations

Czech

Noun

idiot m

1. (mildly vulgar) idiot (disliked or slow-witted person)

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:hlupák

2. idiot (person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old)

Related terms

• idiotský
• idiocie

Further reading

• idiot in P?íru?ní slovník jazyka ?eského, 1935–1957
• idiot in Slovník spisovného jazyka ?eského, 1960–1971, 1989

Danish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ??????? (idi?t?s)

Noun

idiot

1. (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

Derived terms

• idiotsikker
• kraftidiot

References

• “idiot” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Etymology

From Old French idiot (cf. also the older form idiote), borrowed from Latin idi?ta, from Ancient Greek ??????? (idi?t?s, “layman”) from ????? (ídios, “private”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.djo/
• Homophone: idiots
• Rhymes: -jo

Adjective

idiot (feminine singular idiote, masculine plural idiots, feminine plural idiotes)

1. idiotic; stupid

Noun

idiot m (plural idiots, feminine idiote)

1. idiot

Descendants

• ? Polish: idiota

Further reading

• “idiot” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ??????? (idi?t?s)

Noun

idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idioter, definite plural idiotene)

1. (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

Derived terms

• idiotsikker
• kraftidiot
• kronidiot

References

• “idiot” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ??????? (idi?t?s)

Noun

idiot m (definite singular idioten, indefinite plural idiotar, definite plural idiotane)

1. (derogatory) an idiot, imbecile, fool

Derived terms

• idiotsikker
• kraftidiot
• kronidiot

References

• “idiot” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old French

Alternative forms

• idiote

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idi?ta, from Ancient Greek ??????? (idi?t?s, “layman”) from ????? (ídios, “private”).

Adjective

idiot m (oblique and nominative feminine singular idiote)

1. ignorant; narrow-minded

Usage notes

• The form idiote was sometimes used as both masculine and feminine, as a direct borrowing from Latin idiota.

Descendants

• ? English: idiot
• French: idiot

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (idiot, supplement)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French idiot, itself borrowed from Latin idi?ta, from Ancient Greek ??????? (idi?t?s, “layman”) from ????? (ídios, “private”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.di?ot/

Noun

idiot m (plural idio?i, feminine equivalent idioat?)

1. idiot, moron, imbecile

Synonyms

• prost, tâmpit, imbecil, cretin

Adjective

idiot m or n (feminine singular idioat?, masculine plural idio?i, feminine and neuter plural idioate)

1. stupid, idiotic, foolish, absurd

Declension

Synonyms

• prost, tâmpit, stupid

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Latin idi?ta, from Ancient Greek ??????? (idi?t?s, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /id?ot/
• Hyphenation: i?di?ot

Noun

idìot m (Cyrillic spelling ?????)

1. idiot

Declension

See also

• glùpan
• blèsan
• krèt?n

Slovak

Etymology

From Latin idi?ta, from Ancient Greek ??????? (idi?t?s, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?idi?t/

Noun

idiot m (genitive singular idiota, nominative plural idioti, genitive plural idiotov, declension pattern of chlap)

1. (derogatory) idiot

Declension

Derived terms

• idiotický
• idioticky
• idiotstvo
• idiotizmus

See also

• blázon
• hlupák

Further reading

• idiot in Slovak dictionaries at korpus.sk

Swedish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ??????? (idi?t?s, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”), from ????? (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private”).

Pronunciation

Noun

idiot c

1. (derogatory) idiot

Declension

English

Etymology

(fool, idiot): From Sawney, a Scots variant of the personal name Sandy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s??ni/

Noun

sawney (countable and uncountable, plural sawneys)

1. (countable) A fool, an idiot.
2. (Britain, slang, obsolete, uncountable) Bacon.
   • 1820, John Bull (volumes 1-2, page 363)

     Tyrrell, another boy, confirmed their testimony, and said, on one occasion, when they had stolen a heart, liver, and lights, the prisoner said, "go out, one or two of you, and see if you can get a bit of sawney!" (meaning a bit of bacon).

   • 1861, The old Roman well (volume 1, page 62)

     A man came in as she spoke, and drawing a large piece of bacon from his pocket, flung it down upon the counter.
     'How much d'ye want for it?' said the lodging-house keeper, weighing it with his eyes.
     'Sixpence.'
     'Sixpence for a bit of sawney! (thieved bacon). We can't give more than fourpence in this shop, my buffer.'

Adjective

sawney (comparative more sawney, superlative most sawney)

1. foolish, stupid

References

• (bacon): 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary

Anagrams

• Swaney, Swayne, waneys