Episode 105: Idiot
Words for Granted - An etymology and linguistics podcast
English - January 05, 2022 00:51 - 17 minutes - 30.9 MB - ★★★★★ - 220 ratingsLanguage Learning Education History etymology language linguistics Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: Episode 104: Genius
Next Episode: Episode 106: Grotesque
In Ancient Greece, an "idiot", or idiotes, was a "private person", which meant someone who did not hold a political office. In this episode, we explore how the word's modern pejorative connotation emerged. We also look into the word's 19th and early 20th century association with the IQ test.