cretin

[kreet-n or, esp. British, kret-n] /ˈkrit n or, esp. British, ˈkrɛt n/
noun
1.
a person suffering from cretinism.
2.
a stupid, obtuse, or mentally defective person.
Origin
1770-80; < French; Franco-Provençal creitin, crestin human being, literally, Christian (hence one who is human despite deformities)
Related forms
cretinoid, adjective
cretinous, adjective
semicretin, noun
Examples from the web for cretin
  • The people who should be horse-whipped are those who keep bending over backwards to give this cretin a platform.
  • Nothing out of ordinary, which means that you are a well, you are a cretin by your own definition.
  • What a arrogant worthless spew of vile ignorant claptrap this cretin has come up with.
British Dictionary definitions for cretin

cretin

/ˈkrɛtɪn/
noun
1.
(old-fashioned) a person afflicted with cretinism
2.
(offensive) a person considered to be extremely stupid
Derived Forms
cretinoid, adjective
cretinous, adjective
Word Origin
C18: from French crétin, from Swiss French crestin, from Latin ChrīstiānusChristian, alluding to the humanity of such people, despite their handicaps
Word Origin and History for cretin
n.

1779, from French crétin (18c.), from Alpine dialect crestin, "a dwarfed and deformed idiot" of a type formerly found in families in the Alpine lands, a condition caused by a congenital deficiency of thyroid hormones, from Vulgar Latin *christianus "a Christian," a generic term for "anyone," but often with a sense of "poor fellow." Related: Cretinism (1801).

cretin in Medicine

cretin cre·tin (krēt'n)
n.
A person afflicted with cretinism.

cre'tin·oid' (-oid') adj.
cre'tin·ous (-əs) adj.