Meanings
plural bigots
- One who is narrow-mindedly devoted to their own ideas and groups, and intolerant of (people of) differing ideas, races, genders, religions, politics, etc.
A former senior minister from Boris Johnson’s government told the Guardian they believed Braverman was a “real racist bigot”.
2023 April 13, Aletha Adu, Jessica Elgot, Kiran Stacey, “Senior Conservatives hit out at Suella Braverman’s ‘racist rhetoric’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN - obsoleteOne who is overly pious in matters of religion, often hypocritically or else superstitiously so.
Donna Clara was a woman of a cold and grave temper, with all the solemnity of a Spaniard, and all the austerity of a bigot.
1820, [Charles Robert Maturin], Melmoth the Wanderer: A Tale. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Company, and Hurst, Robinson, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 2402 more examples
He is no bigot or hypocrite, he is not torn and divided betwixt reality and appearance, no wretch of a rugged and peevish disposition, but honest, jovial, resolute, and a good fellow.
1653, Urquhart, translating Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais, book 1Thus one part of their Church becomes Sotts and Bigots; and the other that behold this Scene of things, though they profess themselves of their Church, become a company of profane Atheists and clancular Deriders of all Religion. […] Nay it is a question whether those that do more superstitiously cleave to them, doe it not rather in a kind of confusion and obstupefaction of mind out of fear and suspicion, then any determinate assurance or firm belief of the things they outwardly profess.
1664, Henry More, A Modest Enquiry Into the Mystery of Iniquity, page 436
Origin
- Middle Englishbi God“by God”
- Old Frenchbigot
- Middle Frenchbigot
- Frenchbigot“a sanctimonious person; a religious hypocrite”
- Englishbigot
From French bigot (“a sanctimonious person; a religious hypocrite”), from Middle French bigot, from Old French bigot, of disputed origin. It is most often believed to have derived from the identical Old French derogatory term bigot applied to the overly religious Normans, said to be known for frequently swearing Middle English bi God (“by God”) (compare Old English bī god, Middle High German bī got, Middle Dutch bi gode), which is also thought to be the origin of the surname Bigott, Bygott. (Compare the French use of "godons" and "goddamns" to refer to the English in Joan of Arc's time, and les sommobiches (see son of a bitch) during World War I). From meaning "someone overly religious" it came to mean "someone overly devoted to their own religious opinion", and then to its current sense. The French Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales supports the Germanic origin theory above. Liberman however opines that this has "too strong a taste of a folk etymological guess invented in retrospect" and prefers Grammont et al.'s theory that it derives from Albigot (“inhabitant of Albi”), named after the commune in southern France where Catharism (also known as Albigensianism) is thought to have originated. However, neither the Oxford English Dictionary nor Online Etymology Dictionary list Grammont and Liberman's theory among their possible origins. Compare typologically Russian ханжа́ (xanžá) (< Ottoman Turkish حاجی (hacı, “Kaaba pilgrim”)).
More words from French, Middle French, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans kwesel, dweper
- kweselone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- dweperone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- dweperperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
Arabic مُتَعَصِّب
- مُتَعَصِّب (mutaʕaṣṣib)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Bengali ধর্মান্ধ
- ধর্মান্ধ (dhormandho)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Bulgarian фанатик, фанатичка
- фанатик (fanatik)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- фанатичка (fanatička)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Catalan fanàtic, fanàtica
- fanàticone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- fanàticaone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- intolerantone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- sectarione who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- sectàriaone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- il·liberalone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Chinese Cantonese 獨斷家 /独断家
- 獨斷家 /独断家 (duk⁶ dyun³ gaa¹)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Chinese Mandarin 独断家
- 独断家 (dú duàn jiā)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Czech náboženský fanatik, náboženská fanatička
- náboženský fanatikone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- náboženská fanatičkaone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Danish bigot
- bigotone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Dutch kwezel
- kwezelperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
Esperanto bigoto, bigotino
- bigotoone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- bigotinoone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- bigotuloperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
- bigotulinoperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
- bigototranslations to be checked
Estonian fanaatik
- fanaatikone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Finnish suvaitsematon kiihkoilija, suvaitsematon fanaatikko
- suvaitsematon kiihkoilijaone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- suvaitsematon fanaatikkoone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- rasistione who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
French sectaire, intolérant
- sectaireone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- intolérantone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- intoléranteone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- fanatique intolérantone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- fanatique intoléranteone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- bigotperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
- bigoteperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
German intoleranter Fanatiker, intolerante Fanatikerin
- intoleranter Fanatikerone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- intolerante Fanatikerinone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- engstirniger, intoleranter Menschone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- bornierter Menschone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- Kleingeistone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- Rassistone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- Rassistinone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- Piesepampelone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- Kantönligeistone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- Frömmlerperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
- Frömmlerinperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
Greek μισαλλόδοξος
- μισαλλόδοξος (misallódoxos)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Hebrew קנאי עיוור
- קנאי עיוור (Kana'i iver)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Hindi कट्टर, धर्मांध
- कट्टर (kaṭṭar)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- धर्मांध (dharmāndh)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- कठमुल्ला (kaṭhmullā)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Hungarian bigott, szentfazék
- bigottone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- szentfazékperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
Irish biogóid
- biogóidone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Italian fanatico, fanatica
- fanaticoone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- fanaticaone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- intolleranteone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- estremistaone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Latvian fanātiķis
- fanātiķisone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Polish bigot, bigotka
- bigotperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
- bigotkaperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
Portuguese intolerante, fanático
- intoleranteone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- fanáticoone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- fanáticaone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- extremistaone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Russian фана́тик, фанати́чка
- фана́тик (fanátik)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- фанати́чка (fanatíčka)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- шовини́ст (šoviníst)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- шовини́стка (šovinístka)one who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Scottish Gaelic dalm-bheachdaiche
- dalm-bheachdaicheone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Spanish ultra, carcunda
- ultraone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- carcundaone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- beatoperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
- mojigatoperson who is overly pious in matters of religion
Tagalog panatiko
- panatikoone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Turkish yobaz, bağnaz
- yobazone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
- bağnazone who is narrow-mindedly devoted to his or her own ideas and groups
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with bigot
All rhymes →Cite this entry
bigot. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bigot
“bigot.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bigot. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bigot,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bigot.
Source: bigot on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.