LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

ingenuus

ingenuus (feminine ingenua, neuter ingenuum)
Classical[ɪŋˈɡɛ.nu.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[in̠ʲˈd͡ʒɛː.nu.us]

Meaning

  1. adjectivenatural, indigenous
  2. adjectivefree-born, freeborn, of free birth
    Vīs tū cōgitāre istum quem servum tuum vocās ex īsdem sēminibus ortum, eōdem fruī caelō, aequē spīrāre, aequē vīvere, aequē morī! tam tū illum vidēre ingenuum potes quam ille tē servum.You want to consider that the one whom you call your slave has arisen from the same seed, to obtain wishes from the same heaven, equally to breathe, equally to live, equally to die! So to you he can seem freeborn just as he [can see] you [as] a slave.c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca Minor, Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium 47.10
  3. adjectivenoble, upright, frank, candid, ingenuous
  4. adjectivedelicate, tender

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeingenuusingenuaingenuum
genitiveingenuīingenuaeingenuī
dativeingenuōingenuaeingenuō
accusativeingenuumingenuamingenuum
ablativeingenuōingenuāingenuō
vocativeingenueingenuaingenuum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeingenuīingenuaeingenua
genitiveingenuōrumingenuārumingenuōrum
dativeingenuīsingenuīsingenuīs
accusativeingenuōsingenuāsingenua
ablativeingenuīsingenuīsingenuīs
vocativeingenuīingenuaeingenua

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

liberaliter, ingenue, bene educari
to receive a liberal education.
optima studia, bonae, optimae, liberales, ingenuae artes, disciplinae
the sciences; the fine arts.

ingĕnŭus, a, um, adj. ingeno, ingigno.
I. Native, indigenous, not foreign.
A. Lit.: fontes, Lucr. 1, 230: tophus, produced in the country, Juv. 3, 20.—
B. Transf., inborn, innate, natural: inest in hoc amussitata sua sibi ingenua indoles, Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 38: color, natural color, Prop. 1, 4, 13. —
II. Free-born, born of free parents.
A. In gen.: ingenuus homo meant formerly one born of a certain or known father, who can cite his father: en unquam fando audistis patricios primo esse factos, non de caelo demissos, sed qui patrem ciere possent, id est nihil ultra quam ingenuos, Liv. 10, 8, 10: ingenui clarique parentes, Hor. S. 1, 6, 91; 1, 6, 8.—Esp., subst.: ingĕnŭus, i, m., and ingĕnŭa, ae, f., a free-born man or woman: ingenui sunt qui liberi nati sunt; libertini, qui ex justa servitute manumissi sunt, Gai. Inst. 1, 11: tutela liberantur ingenuae, etc., id. ib. 1, 194; but this word differs from liber, inasmuch as the latter signifies also a freedman, Plaut. Mil. 4, 1, 15: ingenuamne an libertinam, id. ib. 3, 1, 189: omnis ingenuorum adest multitudo, Cic. Cat. 4, 7, 15: Patricios Cincius ait appellari solitos, qui nunc ingenui vocentur, Paul. ex Fest. p. 241 Müll.: libertinos ab ingenuis adoptari posse, Masur. ap. Gell. 5, 19, 11.—
B. In partic.
1. Worthy of a freeman, noble, upright, frank, candid, ingenuous (syn. liberalis): nihil apparet in eo ingenuum, Cic. Phil. 3, 11, 28; id. Off. 1, 42: timiditas, id. de Or. 2, 3: dolor, id. Phil. 10, 9, 18: vita, id. Fam. 5, 21, 3: est animi ingenui (with inf.), id. ib. 2, 6, 2: ingenuis studiis atque artibus delectari, id. Fin. 5, 18, 48: (with humanae) artes, id. de Or. 3, 6, 21: ingenui vultus puer ingenuique pudoris, Juv. 11, 154: amor, Hor. C. 1, 27, 16: per gemitus nostros ingenuasque cruces, and by such sufferings on the part of a freeman as belong only to slaves, Mart. 10, 82, 6: fastidium, Cic. Brut. 67: aperte odisse magis ingenui est, quam, etc., id. Lael. 18, 65: astuta ingenuum vulpes imitata leonem, Hor. S. 2, 3, 186.—
2. Weakly, delicate, tender (free-born persons being less inured to hardships than slaves; poet.): invalidae vires, ingenuaeque mihi, Ov. Tr. 1, 5, 72: gula, Mart. 10, 82, 6.—Hence, adv.: ingĕnŭē, in a manner befitting a person of free or noble birth, liberally; openly, frankly, ingenuously: educatus, Cic. Fin. 3, 11, 38: aperte atque ingenue confiteri, id. Fam. 5, 2, 2; id. Att. 13, 27, 1: pro suis dicere, Quint. 12, 3, 3.

Origins

Perhaps from in- + earlier *genowos, from *ǵenh₁-.

Descendants
  • Catalaningenu
  • Englishingenuous
  • Frenchingénu
  • Englishingenuefrom French ingénu
  • Italianingenuo
  • Occitaningenú
  • Portugueseingénuo
  • Romanianingenuu
  • Spanishingenuo
  • Asturianinxenuu

In English words that came into English from ingenuus

  • ingenuousingenuus
  • ingenuityingenuitās
  • ingenueingenuus

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesIngenuusIngenuus Ingenuus, like most Roman terms signifying a personal status, has had a history of its own. Its meaning is only distinctly expressed for us i…

Quick answers

What does ingenuus mean in Latin?
ingenuus, a adjective, means “natural, indigenous; free-born, freeborn, of free birth; noble, upright, frank, candid, ingenuous”.
How do you pronounce ingenuus?
In classical Latin, [ɪŋˈɡɛ.nu.ʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [in̠ʲˈd͡ʒɛː.nu.us].
Which English words come from ingenuus?
English words that go back to Latin ingenuus include ingenuous, ingenue and ingenuity.