Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “unintelligent” come from?

Unintelligent derives from English intelligent, which comes from Middle French intelligent, from Latin intelligens, meaning "understanding" or "perceiving," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots related to selection and understanding.

unintelligent (English): Not intelligent

Definitions

  1. Not intelligent

Ancestry of “unintelligent”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishintelligentOf high or especially quick cognitive capacity,...
2Middle Frenchintelligent—
3Latinintelligēns—
4Latinintellegō—
5Latinlegō—
6Latinlēx—
7Proto-Italiclēg-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-s—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

Words derived from “unintelligent”

  • unintelligently
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →