Meanings
-
1
noun
a stupid person; (dated) someone of severely limited intelligence
Only an imbecile would leave the front door wide open all night.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From Latin imbecillus ('weak, feeble'), originally perhaps 'without a supporting staff', from in- ('without') + baculum ('staff'). It came to mean 'feeble-minded'.
View etymology graph ->