[bvw]

Origin of CRETIN
French crétin, from French dialect cretin, literally, wretch, innocent victim, from Latin christianus Christian
First Known Use: 1779

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cretin

Didn’t know that. The word “cretin” is a variant of “Christian” in the context meaning wretched innocent victim.

[Ax]

Nor did I. Just another example of how hanging around FR expands one’s knowledge.