English
ignorant
Ignorant comes from Latin ignōrāns ‘unaware, unknowing’, and goes back to ignōrō ‘not know’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEignōrō‘not know’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEignōrāns‘unaware, unknowing’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ignorant
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEignōrō‘not know’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEignōrāns‘unaware, unknowing’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ignorant
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice: “Alas, what ignorant sin have I committed?”
Equivalent to ignore + -ant
Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’
Latin īgnōrō ‘to have no knowledge of’
French ignorer ‘to ignore’
English ignore
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’
can, could, know, note, notice, normal, recognize, recognition, con, narrative, ken, glory, keen, noble, notion, cognitive, diagnostic, notorious, cunning, norm, notation, nobility, cognition, narration, quaint, prognosis, notary, incognito, notoriety, gnome, connoisseur, agnostic, canny, uncouth, kith, canna, cun, recognizance, cognizance, annotate, 91 more
Today it means
adj Unknowledgeable or uneducated; characterized by ignorance.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin ignōrō / ignorant