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ignoramus

 - 4 dictionary results

ig⋅no⋅ra⋅mus

  [ig-nuh-rey-muhs, -ram-uhs]
Use ignoramus in a Sentence
–noun, plural -mus⋅es.
an extremely ignorant person.
Origin:
1570–80; < L ignōrāmus we ignore (1st pers. pl. pres. indic. of ignōrāre to be ignorant of, ignore ); hence name of an ignorant lawyer in the play Ignoramus (1615) by the English playwright G. Ruggle, whence current sense

Synonyms:
simpleton, fool, dunce, know-nothing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ignoramus
ig·no·ra·mus   (ĭg'nə-rā'məs)   
n.   pl. ig·no·ra·mus·es
An ignorant person.

[From New Latin ignōrāmus, a grand jury's endorsement upon a bill of indictment when evidence is deemed insufficient to send the case to a trial jury, from Latin, we do not know, first person pl. present tense of ignōrāre, to be ignorant; see ignore.]
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

ignoramus 
1577, Anglo-Fr. legal term, from L. ignoramus "we do not know," first person present indicative of ignorare "not to know" (see ignorant). The legal term was one a grand jury could write on a bill when it considered the prosecution's evidence insufficient. Sense of "ignorant person" came from the title role of George Ruggle's 1615 play satirizing the ignorance of common lawyers.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: ig·no·ra·mus
Pronunciation: "ig-n&-'rA-m&s
Function: noun
: NO BILL at, BILL
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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