A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg: ingenuous

ingenuous

PRONUNCIATION:
(in-JEN-yoo-uhs)

 

MEANING:
adjective: Guileless; innocent; frank; naive.

 

ETYMOLOGY:
The word literally means free-born. The earlier meaning of the word was noble or honorable as a free-born or native person was supposed to be. Over time the word shifted to its current meaning. From Latin ingenuus (native, free-born), from in- (into) + gignere (to beget). Earliest documented use: 1598. A related word is ingenue.

 

USAGE:
“Clementine is an ingenuous third-grader with a good heart and a particular talent for finding herself in trouble.”
Sarah Hunter; Ramona Quimby’s Cousins; The Booklist (Chicago); Jul 2014.

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