Monday, April 3, 2023

Word of the Week: Dunce

"Word of the Week" is a meme hosted by the Plain-Spoken Pen on Mondays in which we share a word that we find entertaining, enlightening, edifying, or just plain fun to say! 

This past week, while reorganizing my personal library, I came across A Confederacy of Dunces* and wondered were the term "dunce" originated.  A quick internet search netted a wealth of information (extremely appealing to this lover of history) that dates it back to the early 16th century, as a derogatory term applied to the followers of John Duns Scotus (c. 1265/66 – 1308).

The Blessed Duns Scotus ("Duns the Scot")  was a was a Scottish Catholic priest, university lecturer, philosopher, and  Augustinian-Franciscan theologian who had great influence on both Christian and secular Western European thinking during the High Middle Ages.

Now, fast forward a few hundred years to the Renaissance and note the rise of secularism with it's emphasis on being successful and happy in this present world rather than a concentration on the Christian afterlife, and a focus on the political, economic, social and intellectual aspects of life instead of religion.  Those Scotists arguing against this secularism were derided by the humanists, and the term "dunce" (from name "Duns"), became synonymous for one who was backward thinking, incapable of true scholarship. 

Probably more information than anyone is really interested in on a Monday morning, but I found it fascinating!

So, how about you?  Did you stumble across any interesting words over the past week?

*A novel I consider a work of genius while being fully cognizant that it's not universally appealing.

7 comments:

  1. Yes, I actually did!! I had to look up "peroration" which I read in Daddy Long Legs...I won't deny you the joy of learning what it is, if you don't already know. I didn't.

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    1. No, I did NOT know peroration! What an interesting and specific word! (I hope you are enjoying Daddy-Long-Legs. I found it to be so sweet!)

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    2. I didn't know "peroration," either. I had to go look it up. What fun!

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  2. That is interesting; I had no idea of the word originating from John Duns Scotus who I have read of. The word dunce first came to my notice probably through dunce caps (not something I'd have associated with Duns Scotus)

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    1. I was really surprised at how old a word it is! (Thanks for your visit!)

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  3. Fascinating! I wasn't familiar with the origin of the word "dunce," and I would never have guessed at its origins. (I am familiar with A Confederacy of Dunces, though - I know there are a lot of people who think it's wonderful, but I can't count myself among them. Even though John Kennedy Toole is a Louisiana author and I was born and raised here, I just can't with Ignatius Reilly.)

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    1. He is not a likable character, that is for certain. For me, the genius is how Toole was able to capture the world around him so believably and eloquently, to make such a character come to life. But again, I totally understand! I certainly wouldn't want to have an Ignatius Reilly in my life!

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