mumpsimus

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US/ˈmʌmpsɪməs/

noun

A person who obstinately adheres to old ways in spite of clear evidence that they are wrong; an ignorant and bigoted opponent of reform.

Opposite
sumpsimus
OriginLatin sumpsimus →
RareScrabble 17
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Meanings

nounmumpsimus (plural mumpsimuses)

plural mumpsimuses

  1. A person who obstinately adheres to old ways in spite of clear evidence that they are wrong; an ignorant and bigoted opponent of reform.
  2. An obvious error that is obstinately repeated despite correction.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
sumpsimus
Also see
ignoramus

Origin

  1. Latinsumpsimus
  2. Englishmumpsimus

Malapropism of Latin sumpsimus, form of sūmō (“to take”), from a story of an old monk who misrecited the Eucharist with quod in ōre mumpsimus instead of quod in ōre sumpsimus “which we have taken into the mouth”, and stubbornly continued using the incorrect form even after being corrected. Attested 1530 in The Practice of Prelates by William Tyndale, variously attributed to Richard Pace (1517) or Desiderius Erasmus.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

mumpsimus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mumpsimus

MLA

“mumpsimus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mumpsimus. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mumpsimus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mumpsimus.

Source: mumpsimus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.