Agrammatos

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a person who cannot read or write, having had no formal instruction in letters
2. Lacking the ability to read or write, or having never been taught the written forms of language
3. Unable to read or write, unlettered in the sense of having no grounding in written learning

Etymology: In ancient Greek, "agrammatos" described someone who could not read or write. It combines the privative prefix "a-" (meaning "not") with "gramma," a letter of the alphabet, which also gave Greek "grammatike," the art of letters, and ultimately English "grammar." Its sense was simply lack of letters, not lack of intelligence. The New Testament gives the term its most famous use. In Acts 4:13, the authorities in Jerusalem are astonished by Peter and John, who are described as "agrammatoi kai idiotai," unlettered and untrained men. The second adjective, "idiotes," originally meant a private individual or layman, and it is the source of English "idiot." Both words started out describing social or educational standing before they acquired the insulting edge that English "idiot" has today.