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
- Alternative spelling of naive
Ancestry of “naïve”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | naïve | feminine singular of naïf |
| 2 | Latin | nātīvus | — |
| 3 | Latin | nātus | — |
| 4 | Latin | gnātus | — |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | gnātos | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵn̥h₁tós | begotten, produced |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵenh₁- | to produce, to beget, to give birth |
Words derived from “naïve”