nitwit

English

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nitwit

/ˈnɪtwɪt/ US

Where it comes from

First attested in the 1910s in the US Northeast. Likely from German nit, dialect form of nichts (“nothing”), or Yiddish ניט (nit), dialect form of נישט (nisht, “no”), although some dictionaries give the alternative etymology nit (“louse egg; something very small”) + wit.

noun nitwits

informal A scatterbrained or stupid person. If you don't remember you are a nitwit. If you do answer, well, you know what the penalty is for perjury.

Translations

Every language

noun scatterbrained or stupid person

Deutsch	Schwachkopf, Dummkopf
Italiano	sciocco

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MLA

"nitwit." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nitwit. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

nitwit. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nitwit

Chicago

"nitwit." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nitwit.

BibTeX

@misc{nitwit_2026,
  title = {nitwit},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nitwit},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}