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dunce

 - 3 dictionary results

dunce

  [duhns]
Use dunce in a Sentence
–noun
a dull-witted, stupid, or ignorant person; dolt.
Origin:
1520–30; after John Duns Scotus, whose writings were attacked by the humanists as foolish

Related forms:
dun⋅ci⋅cal, duncish, adjective
dunc⋅ish⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
dullard, numbskull, blockhead, ignoramus, simpleton, nincompoop, ninny.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To dunce
dunce   (dŭns)   
n.  A stupid person; a dolt.

[After John Duns Scotus, whose writings and philosophy were ridiculed in the 16th century.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dunce 
1577, from earlier Duns disciple "follower of John Duns Scotus" (c. 1265-1308), Scot. scholar of philosophy and theology supposed to have been born at Duns in Berwickshire. By 16c., humanist reaction against medieval theology singled him out as the type of the hairsplitting scholastic. It became a term of reproach to more conservative philosophical opponents c.1527, later extended to any dull-witted student.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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