'''Idiot''' as a word derived from the [[Greek]] ἰδιώτης, idiōtēs ("person lacking [[professional]] [[skill]]", "a private citizen", "[[individual]]"), from ἴδιος, idios ("private", "one's own"). In [[Latin]] the word idiota ("ordinary person, layman") preceded the Late Latin meaning "uneducated or [[ignorant]] person". Its [[modern]] [[meaning]] and form dates back to Middle English around the year 1300, from the Old French ''idiote'' ("uneducated or ignorant person"). The related word ''idiocy'' dates to 1487 and may have been [[analogously]] modeled on the words [[prophet]] and [[prophecy]]. The word has cognates in many other languages. | '''Idiot''' as a word derived from the [[Greek]] ἰδιώτης, idiōtēs ("person lacking [[professional]] [[skill]]", "a private citizen", "[[individual]]"), from ἴδιος, idios ("private", "one's own"). In [[Latin]] the word idiota ("ordinary person, layman") preceded the Late Latin meaning "uneducated or [[ignorant]] person". Its [[modern]] [[meaning]] and form dates back to Middle English around the year 1300, from the Old French ''idiote'' ("uneducated or ignorant person"). The related word ''idiocy'' dates to 1487 and may have been [[analogously]] modeled on the words [[prophet]] and [[prophecy]]. The word has cognates in many other languages. |