Etymograph

English

naive

Naive comes from French naïve, from Latin nātīvus ‘native, natural’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₁tós‘begotten, produced’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnātos‘born’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnātus
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnātus‘born’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīvus
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnātīvus‘native, natural’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentnaïve
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1949naive

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₁tós‘begotten, produced’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnātos‘born’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnātus
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnātus‘born’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīvus
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnātīvus‘native, natural’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentnaïve
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1949naive

Earliest quotation: 1949, F. A. Hayek, The Intellectuals and Socialism: “Whether by design or driven by the force of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’

general, kind, king, german, engine, generation, nature, nation, gender, genuine, gene, pregnant, genius, oxygen, ken, genre, gentle, indigenous, hydrogen, genocide, genus, kin, genital, ingenious, innate, germ, gentile, gens, nascent, puny, glycogen, genial, janata, genteel, gingerly, jaunty, azadi, nomen, genitive, estrogenic, 106 more

through Latin gnātus

cognate, 5 more

through Latin nātus ‘born’

natural, noel, nee, natal, nada, 7 more

through Latin īvus

positive, festival, festive, festivity, naïveté, 9 more

through Latin nātīvus ‘native, natural’

native, nativity, naïve, 4 more

Today it means

adj Lacking worldly experience, wisdom, or judgement; unsophisticated.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / naive

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