noun
Meaning 1
A scatterbrained or stupid person.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
nitwit
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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US: /ˈnɪtwɪt/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
noun
Meaning 2
a stupid incompetent person
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: dimwit, half-wit, doofus
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: simpleton, simple
History
Etymology
First attested in the 1910s in the US Northeast. Likely from German nit, dialect form of nichts (“nothing”), or Yiddish ניט (nit), dialect form of נישט (nisht, “no”), although some dictionaries give the alternative etymology nit (“louse egg; something very small”) + wit.
Across languages
Translations
17 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: глупак (glupak) — scatterbrained or stupid person
- German: Schwachkopf — scatterbrained or stupid person
- German: Dummkopf — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Italian: sciocco — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Māori: poroheahea — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Māori: hākawa — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Māori: pōrewarewa — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Māori: ngoungoua — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Polish: głupiec — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Polish: głupek — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Polish: matołek — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Polish: gamoń — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Serbo-Croatian: bezvèznjāk — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Serbo-Croatian: budàla — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Serbo-Croatian: blèsan — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Serbo-Croatian: zvèkan — scatterbrained or stupid person
- Turkish: enayi — scatterbrained or stupid person