Published 2026-09-11

dunce

Where did “dunce” come from? Swipe through its history. #words #vocabulary

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   KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS WORD: dunce. Say it: /dʌns/
   Meaning: A stupid person.

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   THE STORY: Where it started. Dunce comes from the name of John Duns Scotus, a major medieval philosopher and theologian. His adherents were called Dunses or Dunsmen.

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   NEXT: What changed. Renaissance humanists hostile to scholastic philosophy used the followers' name contemptuously for defenders of old learning. The label widened from an intellectual opponent to a slow or stupid person.

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   NOW: Why it matters. Dunce comes from the name of a formidable medieval thinker: John Duns Scotus, known as the Subtle Doctor. In the 1500s, critics mocked his scholastic followers as Dunses. The label slid from a school of thought to pedant, then to a slow-witted person.

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   YOUR TURN: What about you?. How did the surname of a formidable medieval thinker become a classroom insult?