Idiocy

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɪdiəsi/

Definitions

1. Extreme stupidity or a profound lack of intelligence and understanding
2. A state of acting without reason or exhibiting great stupidity
3. The quality of showing senselessness or remarkably poor judgment

Etymology: "Idiocy" is an English noun built from "idiot" plus the suffix "-cy," which marks a state or quality, as in "accuracy" or "democracy." The word "idiot" itself arrived in English through Old French "idiot" and Latin, and in its original sense it described a person who was private or unlearned, someone outside the formal circles of learning, rather than a fool. The shift to meaning simply stupid came later, so "idiocy" inherited the modern sense of extreme foolishness only after that change had happened. English borrowed "idiocy" from French "idiotie," which carried the same sense of foolishness, and the word displaced earlier English forms such as "idiotacy" and "idiotry." Those older forms, built on the same root with different endings, show how English speakers were trying out several suffixes before settling on the one now in use.

Synonyms: foolishness, stupidity, ignorance

Antonyms: wisdom, intelligence