different between schmuck vs idiot

English

Alternative forms

• shmuck, shmuk

Etymology

From Yiddish ?????? (shmok, “penis, fool”). Further origin uncertain. Probably from Old Polish smok (“dragon”), akin to Bulgarian ???? (smok, “grass snake”). Perhaps akin to onomatopoeic Russian ???????? (smoktat?) smoktat ("to suck") according to old belief that snakes suck milk from animals. Alternatively a baby-talk corruption of Yiddish ?????? (shmekl), a dissimilated form of ?????? (shtekl, “penis/willy”, literally “little stick”). Alternatively from the verb Middle High German smucken, archaic German schmucken, which has several meanings allowing possible semantic connections: 1.) “to squeeze, press, fit into something tight”; 2.) “to hug, snuggle, kiss”; 3.) “to adorn, decorate”. The last of these three senses is perhaps less likely, but compare German Schmuck (“jewellery”) with English crown jewels.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?k/
• Rhymes: -?k

Noun

schmuck (plural schmucks)

1. (colloquial, derogatory, US) A jerk; a person who is unlikable, detestable, or contemptible because he or she is stupid, foolish, clumsy, oafish, inept, malicious, or unpleasant.

   Synonyms: twerp, twit, dope, dick, dork, prick, putz

   • 1995 September, The Playboy Interview: Cindy Crawford, Playboy

     One day my girlfriend, her boyfriend and I were sunbathing topless because that's Barbados - you can wear nothing if you want. And the Pepsi guy walks up and with my agent to meet us for lunch. I wondered if I should put on my top because I have a business relationship with him. I didn't want him to get offended because the rest of the beach had seen me with my top off. Meanwhile, as he's walking towards me he's saying to my agent "I hope she puts on her top.". He wasn't even being a schmuck, like wanting to see.

2. (colloquial, derogatory) A deplorable, pitiful person; often in the form poor schmuck.

Derived terms

• Schmucksville
• schmucky

Translations

See also

• schlemiel

Further reading

• Yiddish language on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

German

Etymology

From Middle Low German smuk (“supple, bendsome, pleasing, beautiful, petite, cute”) (compare Middle Low German smuk (“ornament, jewellery”)), from Old Saxon *smuk, *smukk, from Proto-Germanic *smukkaz (“flexible, bendsome, easy”), from Proto-Indo-European *smewg- (“to slip, glide, slide”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?k/
• Homophone: Schmuck
• Rhymes: -?k

Adjective

schmuck (comparative schmucker, superlative am schmucksten)

1. (dated) pretty, spruce

Declension

Further reading

• “schmuck” in Duden online

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