Genealogy Chat

Hi, One of my ancestors, had been listed on a census as an imbecile, however, on her death certificate it was stated that she had died from a "stroke" so perhaps the old dear was unable to speak properly and may have had a twisted face due to the stroke, so the enumerator (silly clot) classed her as an imbecile!!!!

thanks guys! Thats cleared that one up then! Kerry

Labour members of parliament are imbeciles, all other members of parliament are idiots. Or is it the other way round? Sorry,couldn't resist it! I've just come home from voting.

id·i·ot n. A foolish or stupid person. A person of profound mental retardation having a mental age below three years and generally being unable to learn connected speech or guard against common dangers. The term belongs to a classification system no longer in use and is now considered offensive. ------------------------------------ [Middle English, ignorant person, from Old French idiote, from Latin idita, from Greek idits, private person, layman, from idios, own, private. See s(w)e- in Indo-European Roots.] im·be·cile n. A stupid or silly person; a dolt. A person whose mental acumen is well below par. A person of moderate to severe mental retardation having a mental age of from three to seven years and generally being capable of some degree of communication and performance of simple tasks under supervision. The term belongs to a classification system no longer in use and is now considered offensive. adj. also im·be·cil·ic (mb-slk) Stupid; silly. Well below par in mental acumen. ---------------------- [From obsolete French imbécille, weak, feeble, from Old French, from Latin imbcillus : in-, not; see in-1 + possibly bacillum, staff, diminutive of baculum, rod; see bak- in Indo-European Roots.]

Yet more definitions IQ Range Classification 70-80 Borderline deficiency 50-69 Moron 20-49 Imbecile below 20 Idiot However the words were in use long before someone thought of a way of measuring intelligence (1904).

There is a difference between mentally ill (i.e. insane - people who have delusions, schizophrenia, paranoia, etc) and mentally handicapped (people with low-IQ or specific learning difficulties. Tho' of course I think the two were saddled together in asylums "out of the way".

I always thought it differentiated between those born mad and those who "went" mad.also including those who were put there who didn't fit into society .People with post natal depression or eccentrics :or of single parents whose family rejected them.

I have this on a very good website about archaic medical terms Term IQ Modern term Idiot 0 to 25 Severe learning disability Imbecile 25 to 50 Moderate learning disability Feeble minded (moron) 50 to 70 Mild learning disability

Mine gives: Imbecile - of abnormally low intelligence, Idiot - with severe mental retardation which kind of implied that being an idiot is worse!?! Surely to use these two terms they must have had some distinct meaning as within the same institution they use both terms ... I'm intrigued!

My dictionary gives idiot as someone with an IQ of 20 - 50 who would be classed as severely mentally subnormal. Imbecile is a bit vague: a feeble-minded person. Janice

Whilst doing a bit of digging into lunatic asylums I've noticed that people are oftern classified as idiots or imbeciles. Does anyone know the difference between the two .... dictionary wasn't very helpful! Thanks Kerry