midwit en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈmɪdwɪt/
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *me Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *-dʰe Proto-Indo-European *médʰi Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos Proto-Germanic *midjaz Proto-West Germanic *midi Old English midd Middle English mid English mid English mid- Proto-Indo-European *weyd- Proto-Indo-European *wóyde Proto-Germanic *witaną Proto-Germanic *witją Proto-West Germanic *witi Old English witt Middle English wit English wit English midwit From mid- + wit; likely coined in line with nitwit, halfwit, etc.
Meanings
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(Internet, derogatory, mildly, neologism) A person of middling intellect; someone who is neither particularly dull nor particularly smart, especially if they act as though they are smarter than they are.
Online, people make fun of midwits with a specific meme format: an IQ bell curve, with a character placed at each extreme and one above the bulge in the middle. […] One example of the midwit trap is investing. Above, the midwit – perhaps a Reddit-browsing amateur trader, or the solid kind of chap who works in wealth management – will go on about hot stocks and market conditions.
2023 June 27, Josiah Gogarty, “Beware the midwit trap”, in The New Statesman, archived from the original on 27 Jun 2023:It is still a midwit dinner party applause line that such and such a percentage of Americans don't have passports.
2025 May 10, Janan Ganesh, “Why travel didn’t bring the world together”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 19:Congress is packed with midwits. There are no intellectuals in Congress. None could flourish in such a mediocre environment.
2023 February 21, David Sinclair, The Wolf Tamers: How They Made the Strong Weak:At no point in this process does the midwit have to review information for himself or consider ideas in abstract. […] How then should we not be midwits? Painting with broad strokes: avoid media. Cultivate taste. Grow and train your sense of aesthetics. Recognize beauty. Practice virtue. Pray.
2022 January 7, Merri, “Brief Genealogy of the Midwit”, in The Pillarist, archived from the original on 30 Sep 2022:A true paragon nation captures the midwit, get-the-news-from-Trevor-Noah demographic.
2023 February 11, Janan Ganesh, “After Germany’s fall, which is the paragon nation?”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 22:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| midwits | Number=Plur | lexicographic |