When is "idiot" used?
To understand the specific uses of the word “idiot” during certain time periods we can analyze the Corpus of Historical American English (COHA) and Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA).
While looking at the charts of the Corpus of Historical American English (COHA), we can see that the use of the word idiot has spiked during the years 1890 and 1960. From 1960 to the present, the frequency of “idiot” has continued to go up. The huge increase in 1890 could be due to the beginning of idiot asylums and the use of idiot to describe derivatives of the word such as lunatic (“Lunatic Legal Definition”). During the 1960’s the increase in frequency is most likely due to the classification in psychology of idiot by Goddard. Now, from the 1990s to the present, the most common use of idiot is in fiction.
Charts of the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) show that idiot appears mostly in fiction rather than any other genre of reading including academic work. In fiction the word idiot is associated with being a fool. Idiots tend to act irrationally for the comic relief of others. People frequently call themselves idiots when they feel they acted stupidly. The use of the word idiot can describe the way someone looks, feels, sounds, and acts. For example, my brother is a terrible dancer. If I’m at a party with him and we are dancing, I’ll tell him he looks like an idiot. In my opinion, his funny movements and facial expressions make him look like a goofy fool - an idiot.
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This section provides a case of idiot being used in society today This section gives two different perspectives on the word idiot. To learn more about the current definition check out the Oxford English Dictionary segment or to learn more about the psychological meaning look for the Dictionary.com page. You're on this page now. Learn about the consequences of being called an idiot on this page. Here you'll find a list of my sources. |