Where does “naïve” come from?

Naïve comes from French naïve, from French naïf, from Latin nativus meaning native or natural, ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root ǵenh₁-.

naïve (English): Alternative spelling of naive

Definitions

  1. Alternative spelling of naive

Ancestry of “naïve”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchnaïvefeminine singular of naïf
2Latinnātīvuscreated, made
3Latinnātusborn, arisen, made
4Latingnātus—
5Proto-Italicgnātosborn
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵn̥h₁tósbegotten, produced
7Proto-Indo-Europeanǵenh₁-to produce, to beget, to give birth

Words derived from “naïve”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- →