ultracrepidarian

[ uhl-truh-krep-i-dair-ee-uh n ]

/ ˌʌl trəˌkrɛp ɪˈdɛər i ən /

adjective

noting or pertaining to a person who criticizes, judges, or gives advice outside the area of his or her expertise: The play provides a classic, simplistic portrayal of an ultracrepidarian mother-in-law.

noun

an ultracrepidarian person.

Nearby words

ultra-distance, ultrabasic, ultracentrifuge, ultraclean, ultraconservative, ultracrepidarian, ultracritical, ultradian, ultrafast, ultrafiche, ultrafilter

Origin of ultracrepidarian

1800–20; ultra- + Latin crepidam ‘sole of a shoe, sandal’ (< Greek krepis ‘shoe’); in allusion to the words of Pliny the Elder ne supra crepidam sutor judicare ‘let the cobbler not judge above the sandal’; cf. the English proverb “let the cobbler stick to his last”

Related forms

ul·tra·crep·i·dar·i·an·ism, noun