Where does “ingenuity” come from?

Ingenuity derives from Latin ingenuitas, meaning the quality of being freeborn or noble by birth.

ingenuity (English): The ability to solve difficult problems, often in...

Definitions

  1. The ability to solve difficult problems, often in...

Ancestry of “ingenuity”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatiningenuitasThe condition of being free-born or noble;...
2Latiningenuusnatural, indigenous; freeborn; noble, upright,...
3Latinin-un-, non-, not; in, within, inside
4Latininin, at, on, upon, from; within, while in; into,...
5Old Latinenin
6Proto-Italicenin
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “ingenuity

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én
ingenuity — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer