English
intelligent
Intelligent comes from Latin intelligō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintelligō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintelligēns
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600intelligent
- Englishearliest quotation 1927intelligent
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintelligō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintelligēns
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600intelligent
- Englishearliest quotation 1927intelligent
Earliest quotation: 1927, F. E. Penny: “Anstruther laughed good-naturedly. “[…] I shall take out half…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂leg- ‘to care for’
leech, analgesic, analgesia, 11 more
through Proto-Italic *legō
election, collection, lesson, select, collective, legion, elite, elect, eligible, collector, coil, intellectual, elegant, negligible, negligence, cull, negligent, legation, diligent, ineligibility, 24 more
Another origin of intelligent
- Russianmodernинтеллиге́нтintelligént‘intellectual’
- Englishtodayintelligent
Today it means
adj Of high or especially quick cognitive capacity, bright.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin intelligō / intelligent