ingenium

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Latin

Etymology

From in- +‎ gignō +‎ -ium.

Pronunciation

Noun

ingenium n (genitive ingeniī or ingenī); second declension

  1. innate or natural quality, natural character; nature
    Synonyms: indolēs, mēns, habitus, nātūra, character
  2. disposition, temper, inclination
  3. intelligence, natural capacity
  4. talent, ability, art
    • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 2.123:
      dēficit ingenium, maiōraque vīribus urgent
      My ability is lacking, and what urges me on is greater than my strength.
  5. a man of genius, a genius
  6. (Medieval Latin) machine, engine

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

1Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Descendants

References

  • ingenium”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • ingenium”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • ingenium in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • ingenium in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • a man of ability: vir magno ingenio, ingeniosus
    • a man of ability: vir magno ingenio praeditus
    • to be talented, gifted: ingenio valere
    • to be very talented: ingenio abundare
    • natural gifts: natura et ingenium
    • to sharpen the wits: ingenium acuere
    • penetration; sagacity: ingenii acumen
    • dulness of intellect: ingenii tarditas (opp. celeritas)
    • weakmindedness: ingenii infirmitas or imbecillitas
    • imagination: ingenium, cogitatio
    • vivid, lively imagination: ingenii vis or celeritas
    • to cultivate the mind: animum, ingenium excolere (not colere)
    • mental culture: animi, ingenii cultus (not cultura)
    • to be gifted, talented: ingenio valere
    • to possess rich mental endowments: summo ingenio praeditum esse
    • we expect a great deal from a man of your calibre: magna est exspectatio ingenii tui
    • to make a character-sketch of a person: de ingenio moribusque alicuius exponere
    • to indulge one's caprice: sibi or ingenio suo indulgere (Nep. Chabr. 3)
    • character: natura et mores; vita moresque; indoles animi ingeniique; or simply ingenium, indoles, natura, mores