abderitt

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Norwegian Bokmål

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Abderite, a reference to Democritus, native of Abdera, here depicted in the statue Democritus meditating on the seat of the soul.

Etymology

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From German Abderit (Abderite), from Latin Abderita, Abderites, from Ancient Greek Ἀβδηρίτης (Abdērítēs), from Ἄβδηρα (Ábdēra, Abdera), from a Phoenician word + -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs, demonymic suffix), a back-formation of πολῑ́της (polī́tēs), from both πόλις (pólis, city, community), from Proto-Hellenic *ptólis (city), from Proto-Indo-European *tpólHis, from *tpelH- (fortification, city) + and from -της (-tēs, forms demonyms), from Proto-Hellenic *-tās, probably from Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ and *-tós (forms verbal adjectives).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /abdəˈrɪt/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪt
  • Hyphenation: ab‧de‧ritt

Noun

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abderitt m (definite singular abderitten, indefinite plural abderitter, definite plural abderittene)

  1. (historical) an Abderite (an inhabitant or native of Abdera, in Thrace, a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe, now divided between Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey)
    • 1890, Marcus Jacob Monrad, Æsthetik II, page 483:
      den classiske oldtid havde f.ex. sine abderiter, vi have vore fjeldmænd, jyder o.s.v.
      the classical antiquity had e.g. its abderites, we have our mountaineers, Jews, etc.
    • 1896, Henrik Jæger, Illustreret norsk literaturhistorie I, page 497:
      Wieland’s bekjendte fortælling om de græske «molboer», abderitterne
      Wieland’s well-known tale of the Greek “molboer”, the abderites
  2. (colloquial, derogatory) a simple-minded person
    Synonym: molbo

Usage notes

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An ancient belief was that "the people of Abdera are fools and madmen" (stulti et insani Abderitae).

Derived terms

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References

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