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ignoramus - 5 dictionary results
ig⋅no⋅ra⋅mus
[ig-nuh-rey-muh
s, -ram-uhs] 
–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
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.
simpleton, fool, dunce, know-nothing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Ignoramus
Ig`no*ra"mus\, n. [L., we are ignorant. See Ignore.]1. (Law) We are ignorant; we ignore; -- being the word formerly written on a bill of indictment by a grand jury when there was not sufficient evidence to warrant them in finding it a true bill. The phrase now used is, "No bill," "No true bill," or "Not found," though in some jurisdictions "Ignored" is still used. --Wharton (Law Dict. ). Burn. 2. (pl. Ignoramuses.) A stupid, ignorant person; a vain pretender to knowledge; a dunce. An ignoramus in place and power. --South.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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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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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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