Cretin

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈkɹɛtnÌ©/
• US IPA: /ˈkɹiːtnÌ©/
• Homophones: Cretan US only

Origin

From French crétin ("cretin, idiot"), from crestin, an Alpine dialectal form of chrétien, from Vulgar Latin christianus in the lost sense of 'anyone in Christendom', often with a sense of 'poor fellow'.

Full definition of cretin

Noun

1. (pathology) A person who fails to develop mentally and physically due to a congenital hypothyroidism.
2. (pejorative) An idiot.

Synonyms

Derived terms

• cretinism
• cretinize
• cretinoid
• cretinous