TERMIUM Plus®

The Government of Canada’s terminology and linguistic data bank.

SAVANT IDIOT [1 record]

Record 1 2025-01-07

English

Subject field(s)
  • Sociology of persons with a disability
  • Mental Disorders
  • Nervous System
  • Cognitive Psychology
CONT

... a person with savant syndrome has "islands of genius" within his or her intellectual abilities, where a specific ability or subject is understood to a near-perfect level, while other abilities seem to be impaired.

OBS

Individuals with savant syndrome were historically referred to with the term "idiot savant," but negative connotations of the term "idiot" resulted in its abandonment ...

French

Domaine(s)
  • Sociologie des personnes handicapées
  • Troubles mentaux
  • Système nerveux
  • Psychologie cognitive
DEF

[Individu] qui présente des déficits intellectuels sévères, au sein desquels émerge comme une île un domaine dans lequel ils sont non seulement compétents, mais parfois même extraordinairement doués.

OBS

À la fin du XIXe et au début du XXe siècle, «idiot» était un terme scientifique acceptable pour qualifier une personne dont le QI [quotient intellectuel] était inférieur à 20. Le terme de «savant idiot» fut plus tard considéré comme inapproprié [...]

Spanish

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