ignoramus

[ig-nuh-rey-muhs, -ram-uhs]

noun

plural

ignoramuses 

1. an extremely ignorant person.

   Synonyms: simpleton, know-nothing, dunce, fool

ignoramus

/ ˌɪɡnəˈreɪməs /

noun

1. an ignorant person; fool

Word History and Origins

Origin of ignoramus¹

1570–80; < Latin ignōrāmus we ignore (1st person plural present indicative of ignōrāre to be ignorant of, ignore ); hence name of an ignorant lawyer in the play Ignoramus (1615) by the English playwright G. Ruggle, whence current sense

Word History and Origins

Origin of ignoramus¹

C16: from legal Latin, literally: we have no knowledge of, from Latin ignōrāre to be ignorant of; see _ignore ; modern usage originated from the use of Ignoramus as the name of an unlettered lawyer in a play by G. Ruggle, 17th-century English dramatist