autodidact

[ aw-toh-dahy-dakt, -dahy-dakt ]

/ ˌɔ toʊˈdaɪ dækt, -daɪˈdækt /

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noun

a person who has learned a subject without the benefit of a teacher or formal education; a self-taught person.

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Origin of autodidact

First recorded in 1525–35; from Greek autodídaktos “self-taught”; see origin at auto-¹, didactic

OTHER WORDS FROM autodidact

au·to·di·dac·tic, adjectiveau·to·di·dac·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

British Dictionary definitions for autodidact

autodidact

/ (ˈɔːtəʊˌdaɪdækt) /

noun

a person who is self-taught

Derived forms of autodidact

autodidactic, adjective

Word Origin for autodidact

C16: from Greek autodidaktos self-taught, from autos self + didaskein to teach

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012