different between ignoramus vs numskull

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?

English

Alternative forms

• numbskull

Etymology

numb (“deadened”) +? skull

Noun

numskull (plural numskulls)

1. (derogatory) A dunce, mentally dull or stupid person.
2. (derogatory) A person who refuses to learn or grow mentally.

   That numskull will never learn how to compose a letter.

3. A traditional name for a fool who serves as the butt of jokes about stupidity.

Synonyms

• airhead
• bubblehead
• thickhead
• See also Thesaurus:fool
• See also Thesaurus:idiot

Derived terms

• numpty, numptie

Translations

References

• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967