dunce

Language

See also: dūncè

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

dunce

Etymology

1530, named after John Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308)Category:English eponyms#DUNCE.^[1] Scotus was ironically a well-known Scottish thinker; his followers, however, opposed the philosophers of the Renaissance, and thus "dunce" was first used to describe someone rejecting new knowledge in 1530; later, any person deemed stupid.^[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

dunce (plural dunces)Category:English lemmas#DUNCE Category:English nouns#DUNCE Category:English countable nouns#DUNCE Category:English entries with incorrect language header#DUNCE Category:Pages with entries#DUNCE Category:Pages with 1 entry#DUNCE

An unintelligent person.
Synonyms: idiot; see also Thesaurus:idiot
- c. 1713, Jonathan Swift, “Thoughts on Various Subjects”, in The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, volume 5:
  When a true genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.
  Category:English terms with quotations#DUNCE
- 1855, Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, section XXX:
  [...] Dunce, / Dotard, a-dozing at the very nonce, / After a life spent training for the sight!
  Category:English terms with quotations#DUNCE
  Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned

Derived terms

Translations

unintelligent person — see also idiot

Category:Entries with translation boxes#DUNCE

Belarusian: ёлуп m (jólup)Category:Terms with Belarusian translations#DUNCE, ёлупень m (jólupjenʹ)Category:Terms with Belarusian translations#DUNCE
Crimean Tatar: cailCategory:Terms with Crimean Tatar translations#DUNCE
Czech: tupec (cs) mCategory:Terms with Czech translations#DUNCE, blbec (cs) mCategory:Terms with Czech translations#DUNCE, poleno (cs) nCategory:Terms with Czech translations#DUNCE
Esperanto: malkleruloCategory:Terms with Esperanto translations#DUNCE
Finnish: aasi (fi)Category:Terms with Finnish translations#DUNCE, typerys (fi)Category:Terms with Finnish translations#DUNCE, tyhmä (fi)Category:Terms with Finnish translations#DUNCE
French: cancre (fr) m or fCategory:Terms with French translations#DUNCE
Galician: túzaro (gl) mCategory:Terms with Galician translations#DUNCE, bestello mCategory:Terms with Galician translations#DUNCE, trepeiro mCategory:Terms with Galician translations#DUNCE, tarulo mCategory:Terms with Galician translations#DUNCE, tamarugo mCategory:Terms with Galician translations#DUNCE, rude mCategory:Terms with Galician translations#DUNCE
German: Dummkopf (de) mCategory:Terms with German translations#DUNCE, Schwachkopf (de) mCategory:Terms with German translations#DUNCE, Dämel mCategory:Terms with German translations#DUNCE, Einfaltspinsel (de) mCategory:Terms with German translations#DUNCE, Dummerjan mCategory:Terms with German translations#DUNCE
Icelandic: tossi mCategory:Terms with Icelandic translations#DUNCE
Latin: barcala mCategory:Terms with Latin translations#DUNCE, bārō mCategory:Terms with Latin translations#DUNCE
Macedonian: дунстер m (dunster)Category:Terms with Macedonian translations#DUNCE, дудук m (duduk)Category:Terms with Macedonian translations#DUNCE
Norwegian: dumrian (no)Category:Terms with Norwegian translations#DUNCE
Plautdietsch: Dommajon mCategory:Terms with Plautdietsch translations#DUNCE
Polish: nieuk (pl) mCategory:Terms with Polish translations#DUNCE, antytalent (pl) mCategory:Terms with Polish translations#DUNCE
Russian: не́уч (ru) m (néuč)Category:Terms with Russian translations#DUNCE, идио́т (ru) m (idiót)Category:Terms with Russian translations#DUNCE, балда́ (ru) m (baldá)Category:Terms with Russian translations#DUNCE, остоло́п (ru) m (ostolóp)Category:Terms with Russian translations#DUNCE, тупи́ца (ru) m (tupíca)Category:Terms with Russian translations#DUNCE
Spanish: tonto de capirote mCategory:Terms with Spanish translations#DUNCE
Swedish: dumhuvud (sv) nCategory:Terms with Swedish translations#DUNCE, dummerjöns (sv) cCategory:Terms with Swedish translations#DUNCE
Turkish:
Ottoman Turkish: طوی (toy)Category:Terms with Ottoman Turkish translations#DUNCE
Welsh: dỳns mCategory:Terms with Welsh translations#DUNCE, twpsyn mCategory:Terms with Welsh translations#DUNCE, penbwl (cy) mCategory:Terms with Welsh translations#DUNCE

References

1 2 Dave Wilton (11 June 2006), “dunce”, in Wordorigins.org.

Further reading

“dunce”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Category:English 1-syllable words Category:English countable nouns Category:English eponyms Category:English lemmas Category:English nouns Category:English terms with IPA pronunciation Category:English terms with audio pronunciation Category:English terms with quotations Category:Entries with translation boxes Category:Pages with 1 entry Category:Pages with entries Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned Category:Rhymes:English/ʌns Category:Rhymes:English/ʌns/1 syllable Category:Terms with Belarusian translations Category:Terms with Crimean Tatar translations Category:Terms with Czech translations Category:Terms with Esperanto translations Category:Terms with Finnish translations Category:Terms with French translations Category:Terms with Galician translations Category:Terms with German translations Category:Terms with Icelandic translations Category:Terms with Latin translations Category:Terms with Macedonian translations Category:Terms with Norwegian translations Category:Terms with Ottoman Turkish translations Category:Terms with Plautdietsch translations Category:Terms with Polish translations Category:Terms with Russian translations Category:Terms with Spanish translations Category:Terms with Swedish translations Category:Terms with Welsh translations