idiotism
1 Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of idiotism1
First recorded in 1585–95; idiot + -ism
Origin of idiotism2
1580–90; < Latin idiōtismus < Greek idiōtismós a vulgar phrase, peculiar way of speaking
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.
We have become so used to the thought that any higher literacy is in retreat before the forces of electronic media and consumer idiotism, that perhaps to imagine the opposite has become impossible.
From The Guardian • Feb. 25, 2011
"A horse baared don't look him the tooth," "The stone as roll not heap up not foam," mousse meaning both foam and moss, of course the wrong meaning is essential to a good "idiotism."
From English as she is spoke or, A jest in sober earnest by Fonseca, José da
Yet poverty and idiotism are not the same.
From Nature and Art by Morley, Henry
The exquisite idiotism of the little gentleman in the bag and sword beating his drum in the print of the Enraged Musician, would of itself rise up against so sweeping an assertion.
From The Works of Charles Lamb in Four Volumes, Volume 4 by Lamb, Charles
Again, to say that this matter was the cause of itself; this, of all other, were the greatest idiotism.
From Prefaces and Prologues to Famous Books with Introductions, Notes and Illustrations by Eliot, Charles William
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.
