idiotism

¹ American  

[id-ee-uh-tiz-uhm] / ˈɪd i əˌtɪz əm /

noun

1. idiotic conduct or action.

2. idiocy.

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idiotism ² American  

[id-ee-uh-tiz-uhm] / ˈɪd i əˌtɪz əm /

noun

Obsolete.

1. an idiom.

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idiotism British  

/ ˈɪdɪəˌtɪzəm /

noun

1. an archaic word for idiocy

2. an obsolete word for idiom

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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

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

Swift's friends often heard him lament the state of childhood and idiotism, to which some of the greatest men of this nation were reduced before their death.

From The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland (1753) Volume V. by Cibber, Theophilus

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

Swift's letters paint with terrifying colours a picture of solitude; and at length his despair closed with idiotism.

From Literary Character of Men of Genius Drawn from Their Own Feelings and Confessions by Disraeli, Isaac

In modern English, "idiotism" is the same as "idiom."

From History of the Plague in London by Defoe, Daniel