Idiot Savant Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

idiot savant American [id-ee-uht sa-vahnt, suh-vant, sav-uhnt, ee-dyoh sa-vahn] / ˈɪd i ət sæˈvɑnt, səˈvænt, ˈsæv ənt, i dyoʊ saˈvɑ̃ /

noun

Psychiatry.

plural

idiot savants,

plural

idiots savants

1. a mentally defective person with an exceptional skill or talent in a special field, as a highly developed ability to play music or to solve complex mathematical problems mentally at great speed.

idiot savant British / ˈɪdɪət ˈsævənt, ˈiːdjəʊ sæˈvɑ̃ /

noun

1. a person with learning difficulties who performs brilliantly at some specialized intellectual task, such as giving the day of the week for any calendar date past or present

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of idiot savant

1925–30; < French: literally, learned idiot

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.