Where does “ingenious” come from?
Ingenious comes from Middle French ingénieux, from Old French engenious, from Latin ingeniosus, derived from ingenium meaning natural ability or talent, composed of in and genus meaning birth or kind.
ingenious (English): Displaying genius or brilliance; tending to...
Definitions
- Displaying genius or brilliance; tending to...
Ancestry of “ingenious”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | ingénieux | — |
| 2 | Old French | engenious | — |
| 3 | Latin | ingeniōsus | superior in intellect, gifted with genius; intellectual, clever, ingenious |
| 4 | Latin | ingenium | innate or natural quality, natural character;... |
| 5 | Latin | gignere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 6 | Latin | genere | ablative singular of genus; to beget, produce |
| 7 | Latin | genus | birth, origin, lineage, descent; kind, type,... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | genos | lineage, origin |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵénh₁os | race, lineage |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵenh₁- | to produce, to beget, to give birth |