cretin
Americannoun
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(no longer in technical use) a person with cretinism.
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Informal. a very stupid or contemptible person.
noun
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old-fashioned a person afflicted with cretinism
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offensive a person considered to be extremely stupid
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cretin
First recorded in 1770–80; from French crétin, originally from French Alpine dialect creitin, crestin “deformed and mentally defective dwarf” (owing to iodine deficiency in Alpine regions); further origin uncertain; perhaps from Vulgar Latin Christiānus “a Christian, human being, unfortunate person,” from Latin Christiānus Christian
Explanation
The English language has no shortage of cruel names for people, and one of them is cretin, which is what you’d call someone who is very, very dumb in the head. Back before cretin meant “a stupid person,” it was a medical term for a physical deformity that came from a specific disease. Surprisingly, the root of cretin is the Swiss French word crestin, which means “Christian.” It seems that people back then wanted to remind themselves that even though cretins look unusual, they’re still humans who deserve kindness. Knowing this makes it hard to use cretin in a mean way, but there are plenty more rude words you could use.
Vocabulary lists containing cretin
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
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Dear Martin
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The vehicles were stopped near the intersection of Cretin and Marshall avenues when Tschida arrived.
From Seattle Times • May 30, 2024
It happened near the intersection of Cretin and Marshall avenues around 2 p.m., the St. Paul Police Department said in a tweet on its official account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2023
France coach Fabien Galthie makes two changes to the side which hammered Italy as Damien Penaud replaces Teddy Thomas at wing and Anthony Jelonch comes in at blindside flanker for Dylan Cretin.
From BBC • Feb. 12, 2021
A mustachioed bachelor with thinning brown hair and thickening waist, Greene, 30, says he was born in Crete, III., the "son of a well-known Cretin."
From Time Magazine Archive
The poetical whim of Cretin, a French poet, brought into fashion punning or equivocal rhymes.
From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 1 by Disraeli, Isaac
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
