cretin
[ kreet-n or, esp. British, kret-n ]
/ ˈkrit n or, esp. British, ˈkrɛt n /
noun
a person suffering from cretinism.
a stupid, obtuse, or mentally defective person.
RELATED WORDS
illiterate, uninformed, naive, obtuse, innocent, uneducated, oblivious, absurd, daft, foolish, half-witted, idiotic, inane, moronic, silly, sophomoric, stupid, benighted, dense, green
Nearby words
- cretaceously,
- cretan,
- cretan bull,
- crete,
- cretic,
- cretinism,
- cretinize,
- cretinous,
- cretonne,
- cretons
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. 2019
Examples from the Web for cretinous
One editor at National Review—a friend of 30 years—emailed me that he thought my opinions “cretinous.”
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
/ (ˈkrɛtɪn) /
noun
old-fashioned a person afflicted with cretinism
offensive a person considered to be extremely stupid
Word Origin for cretin
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
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
cretin
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).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
cretin
[ krēt′n ]
n.
A person afflicted with cretinism.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.