Cretins of the Alps
Preserved but no longer current.
The word is a corruption of Christian (Chretien), because, being bap- tized, and only idiots, they were "washed from original sm," and incapable of actual sin. Similarly, idiots are called innocents. (Fr. cretin.
Từ bị biến dạng của Christian, ám chỉ những người chỉ được rửa tội và không thể phạm tội
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Cretins of the Alps” mean?
The word is a corruption of Christian (Chretien), because, being bap- tized, and only idiots, they were "washed from original sm," and incapable of actual sin. Similarly, idiots are called innocents. (Fr. cretin.
Is “Cretins of the Alps” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.