Where does “intelligentsia” come from?
Intelligentsia comes from Russian интеллиге́нция, derived from Latin intellegentia, formed from the verb lego meaning "to choose" or "to read," with the feminine abstract noun suffix -ia.
intelligentsia (English): The intellectual élite of a society
Definitions
- The intellectual élite of a society
Ancestry of “intelligentsia”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russian | интеллиге́нция | intelligentsia the intellectual elite of a society, particularly in Marxist doctrine |
| 2 | Polish | inteligencja | intelligence; intelligentsia |
| 3 | Latin | intellegentia | intelligence, the power of discernment;... |
| 4 | Latin | intellegēns | understanding, realizing |
| 5 | Latin | intellegō | to understand, comprehend, realize, come to know |
| 6 | Latin | legō | to collect, gather, bring together, catch |
| 7 | Latin | lēx | a proposition or motion for a law made to the people by a magistrate, a bill |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | lēg- | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ-s | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |