English
ingenious
Ingenious comes from Latin ingeniōsus ‘endowed with good natural capacity, gifted…’, from gignō ‘to produce’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵíǵn̥h₁eti‘to engender’reconstructedreduplicated present stem of *ǵenh₁-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gignōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgignōas gignere‘to produce’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEingenium‘innate or natural quality, natural capacity, genius’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEingeniōsus‘endowed with good natural capacity, gifted with genius’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400engenious
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ingénieux
- Englishearliest quotation 1834ingenious
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵíǵn̥h₁eti‘to engender’reconstructedreduplicated present stem of *ǵenh₁-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gignōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgignōas gignere‘to produce’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEingenium‘innate or natural quality, natural capacity, genius’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEingeniōsus‘endowed with good natural capacity, gifted with genius’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400engenious
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ingénieux
- Englishearliest quotation 1834ingenious
Earliest quotation: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “I have scarcely recovered the surprise of the ingenious…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce, beget’
kind, general, nature, german, king, nation, native, pregnant, generation, gender, ken, gene, oxygen, genuine, gentle, genre, naive, hydrogen, noel, genocide, indigenous, natal, kin, innate, nee, nativity, nada, genus, naïve, germ, janata, nascent, puny, gentile, cognate, jaunty, glycogen, gens, genteel, azadi, 109 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵíǵn̥h₁eti ‘to engender’
through Proto-Italic *gignō
through Latin gignō ‘to produce’
engineer, genius, genital, 4 more
through Latin ingenium ‘innate or natural quality, natural capacity,…’
Today it means
adj Of a person, displaying genius, ingenuity or brilliance; inventive.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / ingenious