ingenuous: [16] Etymologically, ingenuous means ‘inborn’. English acquired it from Latin ingenuus, which was composed of the prefix inand the element *gen-, denoting ‘production, birth’. This was originally used for ‘born in a particular place, native, not foreign’, but it soon began to take on connotations of ‘freeborn, not a slave’, and hence ‘of noble birth’.
Metaphorical transference to qualities thought characteristic of the nobility – uprightness, candour, straightforwardness, etc – soon followed, and that was the word’s semantic slant when English acquired it. By the 17th century, however, it had started to slide towards ‘artlessness, innocence’ (a sense reflected in ingénue, borrowed from French in the 19th century). => gene, general, generate, genital, ingénue
ingenuous (adj.)
1590s, "noble in nature," from Latin ingenuus "with the virtues of freeborn people, of noble character, frank, upright, candid," originally "native, freeborn," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + gen-, root of gignere "beget, produce" (see genus). Sense of "artless, innocent" is 1670s, via evolution from "high-minded" to "honorably open, straightforward," to "innocently frank." Related: Ingenuously; ingenuousness.
实用例句
1. He seemed too ingenuous for a reporter.
作为一名记者，他太老实了。
来自柯林斯例句
2. It is ingenuous to suppose that money did not play a part in his decision.
如果以为他的决定没有金钱的因素，那就太天真了。
来自《权威词典》
3. He found her charming, but perhaps just a shade too ingenuous for him.
他觉得她很迷人，但对他来说可能又有点太过天真。
来自柯林斯例句
4. With ingenuous sincerity, he captivated his audience.
他以自己的率真迷住了观众。
来自辞典例句
5. The ingenuous boy gave an account of his act, concealing nothing.
