Where does “intelligent” come from?
Intelligent comes from Middle French intelligent, from Latin intelligens (understanding), derived from Latin intellego (to understand, literally to choose between), from Latin lego (to gather, read).
intelligent (English): Of high or especially quick cognitive capacity,...
Definitions
- Of high or especially quick cognitive capacity,...
Ancestry of “intelligent”, step by step
intelligent traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle French intelligent
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | intelligent | — |
| 2 | Latin | intelligēns | — |
| 3 | Latin | intellegō | to understand, comprehend, realize, come to know |
| 4 | Latin | legō | to collect, gather, bring together, catch |
| 5 | Latin | lēx | a proposition or motion for a law made to the people by a magistrate, a bill |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | lēg- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ-s | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |
via Russian интеллиге́нт
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russian | интеллиге́нт | intellectual intelligent person, interested in intellectual matters |