dolt

See also: dőlt

English

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”). More at dull.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɒlt/, IPA^(key): /dəʊlt/, /dɔʊlt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /doʊlt/
• Rhymes: -əʊlt

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Noun

dolt (plural dolts)

1. (derogatory) A stupid person; a blockhead or dullard.

   Synonyms: see 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, 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.

   • 2010 October 8, By Dennis Lim, “Another Dimension of Idiocy”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     Those who loathe “Jackass” — which brought the world beer enemas and urine snow cones and thrust its merry band of dolts into reptile lairs and shark-infested waters — have called it disgusting and irresponsible: an incitement to copycat idiocy, if not a sign of the end of Western civilization.

Derived terms

• doltery
• doltish

Translations

a stupid person; a blockhead or dullard

• Armenian: տխմար (hy) (txmar)
• Bulgarian: глупак (bg) m (glupak), тъпак (bg) (tǎpak)
• Catalan: estaferm m, estúpid (ca) m, imbècil (ca) m
• Czech: blb (cs) m, hňup (cs) m, pitomec (cs) m
• Faroese: býttlingur m, dylhøvd n
• Finnish: tollo (fi), tomppeli (fi), typerys (fi), pölkkypää (fi)
• French: imbécile (fr)
• German: Blödmann (de) m, Tölpel (de) m, Trottel (de) m, Dummkopf (de) m, Tölpel (de) m, Depp (de) m
• Hungarian: tökfilkó (hu), tökfej (hu)
• Irish: amhlán m
• Italian: imbecille (it) m
• Latin: gurdus m, blennus m, fungus m
• Ottoman Turkish: طوی (toy)
• Plautdietsch: Laups m
• Polish: głupek (pl) m, bęcwał (pl) m
• Portuguese: imbecil (pt) m
• Russian: болва́н (ru) m (bolván)
• Sanskrit: मूढ (sa) m (mūḍha)
• Scottish Gaelic: amadan m, burraidh m, bachall m
• Spanish: estúpido (es)
• Swedish: idiot (sv) c, träskalle (sv) c, dumskalle (sv) c, dumbom (sv) c

Verb

dolt (third-person singular simple present dolts, present participle dolting, simple past and past participle dolted)

1. (obsolete) To behave foolishly.
2. To fool; to trick
   • 1674, Charles Cotton, The Compleat Gamester:

     Some by frequent Practice will never be dolted

References

• “dolt”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• told

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɔlt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔlt

Verb

dolt

1. inflection of dollen:
   1. second/third-person singular present indicative
   2. (archaic) plural imperative

Manx

Verb

dolt (verbal noun doltey, past participle doltit)

1. to adopt, foster, initiate

Synonyms

• (to foster): doltaghey

Swedish

Adjective

dolt

1. indefinite neuter singular of dold

Verb

dolt

1. supine of dölja