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idiot savant. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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English
Etymology
From French idiot savant, literally ‘wise idiot’.
Pronunciation
Noun
idiot savant (plural idiots savants or idiot savants)
- (possibly derogatory) A person who exhibits an extraordinary ability in one subject (often mathematics) whilst being intellectually disabled in many other domains.
2014 May 11, Ivan Hewett, “Piano Man: a Life of John Ogdon by Charles Beauclerk, review: A new biography of the great British pianist whose own genius destroyed him [print version: A colossus off-key, 10 May 2014, p. R27]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review):The temptation is to regard him [John Ogdon] as an idiot savant, a big talent bottled inside a recalcitrant body and accompanied by a personality that seems not just unremarkable, but almost entirely blank.
Usage notes
- The more current term is savant.
Synonyms