Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: French
Origin: imbécile, from imbécile 'weak, weak-minded', from Latin imbecillus, probably from baculum 'stick (for support)'

imbecile

 noun
     
im‧be‧cile [countable]
someone who is very stupid or behaves very stupidly [= idiot]:
He looked at me as if I was a total imbecile.
—imbecilic adjective
—imbecility noun [uncountable and countable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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