Abderites

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Natives of Abdera, an ancient Greek city on the Thracian coast ; a figurative term for a foolish or silly person, after the old joke about the city's residents
2. People born in or living in the ancient Thracian city of Abdera ; a mocking label for someone regarded as foolish, drawn from the reputation of that city's people
3. The citizens of Abdera, a Greek city in Thrace ; a jesting name for a simpleton, based on the long-standing mockery of that city's inhabitants

Etymology: "Abderites" is the plural of "Abderite," a native of Abdera, an ancient Greek city on the coast of Thrace, in what is now northern Greece. The word came into English through Latin "Abderita" and "Abderites," which were themselves borrowed from the Greek "Abdērítēs," formed from the city's name with the suffix that denotes an inhabitant. The city's reputation is the reason the word survives. Ancient writers, including Cicero and others, portrayed the Abderites as gullible and slow-witted, and jokes about their foolishness circulated widely in antiquity. Because the Abderites were the butt of so many stories, the name became a byword for a foolish or credulous people, which is why it still appears in dictionaries as a term for someone easily fooled.