dolt
Etymology

First used as a noun in Early Modern English, from dialectal English dold ("stupid, confused"), from Middle English dold, a variant of dulled, dult ("dulled"), past participle of dullen, dollen ("to make dull, make stupid"), from dull, dul, dwal ("stupid").

Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /dɒlt/, IPA: /dəʊlt/, /dɔʊlt/
  • (America) IPA: /doʊlt/
Noun

dolt (plural dolts)

  1. (pejorative) A stupid person; a blockhead or dullard.
    Synonyms: Thesaurus:fool
    • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act V, scene ii], page 337 ↗:
      O Gull, oh dolt, / As ignorant as durt: […]
    • c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act IV, scene xii], page 361 ↗:
      Moſt Monſter-like, be ſhewne / For poor'ſt Diminutiues, for Dolts, […]
    • 1627, Michaell Drayton [i.e., Michael Drayton], “Nimphidia. The Court of Fayrie.”, in The Battaile of Agincourt. […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for VVilliam Lee, […], published 1631, →OCLC ↗:
      This Puck seemes but a dreaming dolt.
Translations Verb

dolt (dolts, present participle dolting; simple past and past participle dolted)

  1. (obsolete) To behave foolishly.
  2. To fool; to trick



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