Idiotism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A propensity for demonstrating foolishness or poor judgment is a significant aspect of a person's character
2. A tendency to act in a senseless or unwise way; a phrase or way of speaking that is peculiar to a specific group or region
3. Behavior showing lack of sense or prudence; a distinctive linguistic feature or phrase used by a particular community

Etymology: Idiotism comes from the Greek "idios", meaning "one's own" or "private", which gave rise to "idiōtēs", a private person who took no part in public affairs. Over time that sense of private, unlearned individual slid toward ignorance, and Latin borrowed the Greek word as "idiota" with the meaning "ignorant person" or "layman." The Latin "idiotismus" then named a turn of phrase peculiar to one's own language, a sense English kept alongside its later meaning. English took "idiot" through Old French, and the form "idiotism" was built on it in English by adding the suffix "-ism," which denotes a practice, condition, or characteristic. The two meanings in the definition reflect this history: a senseless or unwise way of acting connects to the older notion of ignorance, while a phrase peculiar to one language or region descends from the Latin sense of something belonging to a particular group.

Synonyms: absurdity, nonsense