imbecile
UK /ɪmbəˈsiːl/ · US /ˈɪmbəsɪl/ noun, adjective
Forms imbeciles
- noun (obsolete) A person with limited mental capacity who can perform tasks and think only like a young child, in medical circles meaning a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal five- to seven-year-old child.
- noun (derogatory) A fool, an idiot.
- adjective (dated) Destitute of strength, whether of body or mind; feeble; impotent; especially, mentally weak.
Synonyms
idiot cretin moron changeling half-wit retard imbecilic idiotic
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French imbécile, from Latin imbēcillus (“weak, feeble”), literally “without a staff”.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Destitute of strength, whether of body or mind; feeble; impotent; esp., mentally wea; feeble-minded; as, hospitals for the imbecile and insane.
- noun One destitute of strength; esp., one of feeble mind.
- verb To weaken; to make imbecile; as, to imbecile men's courage.
Etymology [L. imbecillis, and imbecillus; of unknown origin: cf. F. imbécile.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “imbecile”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details