dunce

Definition

An unintelligent person.

Etymology

1530, named after John Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308). 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.

Example Sentences

• "When a true genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
• "[...] Dunce, / Dotard, a-dozing at the very nonce, / After a life spent training for the sight!"