imbecile. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

imbecile

SYLLABICATION:	im·be·cile
PRONUNCIATION:	mb-sl, -sl
NOUN:	1. A stupid or silly person; a dolt. 2. A person whose mental acumen is well below par. 3. A person of moderate to severe mental retardation having a mental age of from three to seven years and generally being capable of some degree of communication and performance of simple tasks under supervision. The term belongs to a classification system no longer in use and is now considered offensive.
ADJECTIVE:	also im·be·cil·ic (mb-slk) 1. Stupid; silly. 2. Well below par in mental acumen.
ETYMOLOGY:	From obsolete French imbécille, weak, feeble, from Old French, from Latin imbcillus : in-, not; see in–¹ + possibly bacillum, staff, diminutive of baculum, rod; see bak- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:	imbe·cile·ly —ADVERB


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.