Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

village idiot

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.25 in modern English

Syllables: vil-lage id-iot
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person widely known in their community for their stupidity and mental deficiency.

Example Sentences

"It is true that the Doocot was occasionally appropriated to other purposes than that of a tolbooth for the sorner, the drunken gipsy, the village idiot at the change of the moon, the swearing bluegown, and the contumacious birdnester on the sabbath; […]"
""So kindly keep the vainglorious enumeration of your pots for the benefit of those village idiots who compose your particular set of boozing companions.""
"To some, Mr. Cagri was the Internet's village idiot, but others were touched by his warmth or just tickled by the absurdity of the whole phenomenon."

Etymology

From the saying “Every village has its village idiot”, alleged to be an old Yiddish proverb.

Inflected Forms

village idiots (plural)

Phrases

village bike local yokel

Frequently Paired Words

village bike local yokel

Questions

What does village idiot mean?: A person widely known in their community for their stupidity and mental deficiency.
Where does village idiot come from?: From the saying “Every village has its village idiot”, alleged to be an old Yiddish proverb.

How to pronounce village idiot

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “village idiot”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “village idiot”.
Repeat and practice — Say “village idiot” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.