Words, words...

Back in the 13th century there lived a man who went by the name of John Duns Scotus.  He was a philosopher and was considered one of the cleverest men of his time.  The "Scotus" part of his name simply indicated that he came from Scotland, so his real surname (to the extent that they had such a concept back then) was Duns. Why is this interesting?  Because, despite being such a clever man and a brilliant thinker, his name has given us a word for those who are exactly the opposite.  His ideas fell out of favour in the 16th century and those who espoused them were considered outdated and silly. They were known as Dunsmen, or Dunses - and so gave us the word "dunce".  It is said he favoured a conical hat, which is why the dunce's cap is so shaped.