Where does “intelligently” come from?
Intelligently comes from Middle French intelligent, from Latin intelligens (present participle of intellego, meaning to understand or perceive), ultimately from Latin lego (to gather or choose) and lex (law).
intelligently (English): In an intelligent manner; cleverly
Definitions
- In an intelligent manner; cleverly
Ancestry of “intelligently”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | intelligent | Of high or especially quick cognitive capacity,... |
| 2 | Middle French | intelligent | — |
| 3 | Latin | intelligēns | — |
| 4 | Latin | intellegō | to understand, comprehend, realize, come to know |
| 5 | Latin | legō | to collect, gather, bring together, catch |
| 6 | Latin | lēx | a proposition or motion for a law made to the people by a magistrate, a bill |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | lēg- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ-s | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |