The village idiot is, in strict terms, a person locally known for ignorance or stupidity but is also a common term for a stereotypically silly or nonsensical person or stock character.

The term "village idiot" is also used as a stereotype of the mentally disabled.^[1] It has also been applied as an epithet for an unrealistically optimistic or naive individual.^[2]

The village idiot was long considered an acceptable social role, a unique individual who was dependent yet contributed to the social fabric of their community.^[3] As early as Byzantine times, the "village idiot" was treated as an acceptable form of disabled individual compatible with then-prevailing normative conceptions of social order. The concept of a "village savant" or "village genius" is closely related, often tied to the concept of pre-industrial anti-intellectualism, as both figures are subjects of both pity and derision.^[4] The social roles of the two are combined and applied, especially in the sociopolitical context, in the European medieval/Renaissance court jester.^{[citation needed]} The village idiot has become a character archetype, similar to an oaf or comic relief in narrative structure.