1541, "mentally slow," from M.Fr.
stupide, from L.
stupidus "amazed, confounded," lit. "struck senseless," from
stupere "be stunned, amazed, confounded," from PIE
*(s)tupe- "hit," from base
*(s)teu- (see
steep (adj.)). Native words for this idea include negative compounds with words for "wise" (cf. O.E.
unwis, unsnotor, ungleaw), also
dol (from root of Ger.
toll "mad," related to Gk.
tholeros "muddy, turbid"), and
dysig (see
dizzy).
Stupid retained its association with
stupor and its overtones of "stunned by surprise, grief, etc." into mid-18c. The difference between
stupid and the less opprobrious
foolish roughly parallels that of Ger.
töricht vs.
dumm but does not exist in most European languages.