ingénu

Forms

ingénu (feminine ingénue, masculine plural ingénus, feminine plural ingénues)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin ingenuus (“native, born of free parents, frank”),^[2][3][4][5] formed from in- (“in”) and the root of gignō (“to beget”).^[3][6][7] The French senses follow the two Latin ones: “freeborn” and, morally, “sincere, worthy of a free man”.^[2][3] It is recorded once in the 13th century before it was taken up again in 1480.^[3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Apart from an isolated 13th-century record, it is first found in 1480, in a document in the archives of the Nord, in condicion ingenue “free status”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The legal sense “born free”, as opposed to freed, lived on in Roman law (les ingénus, 1690).^[3] In the early 17th century the word took over the Latin moral sense and was applied to a person who speaks and acts with innocent frankness (1611, Cotgrave; as a noun in Molière, 1668: Quoy! tu fais l'ingénu!).^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg note that French added a shade of naivety of its own.^[4] The favourable sense, still alive in the title of Voltaire's tale, aged: from the classical period on, the word suggested candour that is a little foolish.^[3]

As a noun it passed into the language of the theatre (1829), with rôle d'ingénue and fausse ingénue.^[3] The feminine went into English as ingénue in 1848.^[9]

Timeline

• 13th century – An isolated record.^[3][8]
• 1480 – Condicion ingenue “free status”.^[2]
• 1554 – The adverb ingénument comes into use.^[3][4]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records the sense “artlessly frank”.^[2][6]
• 1668 – Molière uses it as a noun: tu fais l'ingénu.^[2]
• 1829 – The noun enters theatre language.^[3]
• 1848 – English borrows ingénue.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Roman law) freeborn, as opposed to a freed slave.^[10][2]
2. (literary) Innocently frank and naive, ingenuous: une question ingénue, un sourire ingénu.^[10][2]

Noun

1. An ingenuous person: faire l'ingénu, to feign innocence.^[10][2]
2. (feminine) Une fausse ingénue: a girl who pretends to be naive.^[10][3]
3. (theatre, feminine) The part of a naive young girl, the ingénue: jouer les ingénues.^[10][3]

Word family

• ingénument

Related words

• ingénuité
• génie
• engendrer
• Latin ingenuus
• English ingénue

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 688b
6. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert