English
ingenu
Ingenu comes from French ingénu ‘guileless’, and goes back to Latin ingenuus ‘ingenuous’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEingenuus‘ingenuous’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentingénu‘guileless’
- Englishearliest quotation 1946ingenu
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEingenuus‘ingenuous’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentingénu‘guileless’
- Englishearliest quotation 1946ingenu
Earliest quotation: 1946, Dorothy M. McGhee, The Conte Philosphique Evolves Its Solitaire: “Even a casual reader of the philosophic tale will…”
Every English word from Latin ingenuus
Today it means
noun An innocent, unsophisticated, naive, wholesome boy or young man.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin ingenuus / ingenu