idiot savant
[id-ee-uh t sa-vahnt, suh-vant, sav-uh nt; French ee-dyoh sa-vahn]
noun, plural id·i·ot sa·vants, French id·i·ots sa·vants [ee-dyoh sa-vahn] /i dyoʊ saˈvɑ̃/. Psychiatry.
a mentally defective person with an exceptional skill or talent in a special field, as a highly developed ability to play music or to solve complex mathematical problems mentally at great speed.
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Origin of idiot savant
1925–30; < French: literally, learned idiot
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
idiot savant
noun plural idiots savants (ˈiːdjəʊ sæˈvɑ̃) or idiot savants
Word Origin for idiot savant
C19: from French: knowledgeable idiot
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
idiot savant
[să-vänt′]
n. pl. idiot savants
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.