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➕ Defines 'idiot': initial commit #438

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18 changes: 17 additions & 1 deletion 11ty/definitions/idiot.md
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---
title: Idiot
slug: idiot
defined: false
defined: true
speech: noun
excerpt: previously a psychiatric term for someone with a profound intellectual disability; typically used as a generic exclamation of frustration at the actions of another person
flag:
level: avoid
text: 'Ableist language'
reading:
- text: 'The Clinical History of "Moron," "Idiot," and "Imbecile"'
href: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/moron-idiot-imbecile-offensive-history
---
Since medieval times, the word "idiot" was used to describe an ignorant person, and from the 14th century specifically someone with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).

In the early 20th century, the term was adopted by the legal and psychiatric communities to refer to an intellectual disability resulting in function equivalent to a neurotypical two-year old according to contemporary intelligence scales. Like those intelligence measurement systems, the term itself has been replaced in technical settings by more specific medical language.

## Issues

In modern times, "idiot" is rarely used to describe someone with an ID/D, but rather someone who is acting in a manner the speaker finds thoughtless or selfish. Nevertheless, ableist language perpetuates entrenched, dehumanising attitudes toward people with intellectual disabilities.

## Alternatives

Since "idiot" is frequently an exclamation of frustration, use a term that describes the frustrating *action* rather than suggesting an ID/D suffered by the *actor*: "I hated it when that driver cut me off in traffic."