cretin
[kreet-n or, esp. British, kret-n]
- a person suffering from cretinism.
- a stupid, obtuse, or mentally defective person.
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Origin of cretin
1770–80; < French; Franco-Provençal creitin, crestin human being, literally, Christian (hence one who is human despite deformities)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
illiterateuninformednaiveobtuseinnocentuneducatedobliviousabsurddaftfoolishhalf-wittedidioticinanemoronicsillysophomoricstupidcretinousbenighteddenseExamples from the Web for cretinous
Contemporary Examples
Both films quite seriously question and call out the cretinous conception of "black masculinity" pushed in the idiom.
One editor at National Review—a friend of 30 years—emailed me that he thought my opinions “cretinous.”
Historical Examples
Of these cretinous calumnies, there were hundreds afloat for years on end.
Charles Bradlaugh: a Record of His Life and Work, Volume II (of 2)Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner and J. M. (John Mackinnon) Robertson
cretin
- old-fashioned a person afflicted with cretinism
- offensive a person considered to be extremely stupid
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Word Origin
C18: from French crétin, from Swiss French crestin, from Latin Chrīstiānus Christian, alluding to the humanity of such people, despite their handicaps
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for cretinous
cretin
n.
1779, from French crétin (18c.), from Alpine dialect crestin, "a dwarfed and deformed idiot" of a type formerly found in families in the Alpine lands, a condition caused by a congenital deficiency of thyroid hormones, from Vulgar Latin *christianus "a Christian," a generic term for "anyone," but often with a sense of "poor fellow." Related: Cretinism (1801).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
cretin
(krēt′n)- A person afflicted with cretinism.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.