English
intellectual
Intellectual comes from Latin intellēctus ‘understanding’, and goes back to intellegō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintellegō‘to understand, comprehend, realize, come to know’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintellēctus‘understanding’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintellectualis
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400intellectuel
- Englishearliest quotation 1646intellectual
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintellegō‘to understand, comprehend, realize, come to know’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintellēctus‘understanding’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintellectualis
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400intellectuel
- Englishearliest quotation 1646intellectual
Earliest quotation: 1646, Thomas Browne, London: […] T[homas] H[arper] for Edward Dod: “[…] although their intellectuals had not failed in the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂leg- ‘to care for’
leech, analgesic, analgesia, 9 more
through Proto-Italic *legō
election, collection, lesson, elite, eligible, select, collective, coil, legion, intelligent, negligence, elegant, collector, elect, negligible, negligent, diligent, cull, legation, ineligibility, 22 more
through Latin intellegō ‘to understand, comprehend, realize, come to know’
Today it means
adj Pertaining to, or performed by, the intellect; mental or cognitive.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin intellegō / intellectual