ingenuous

• adj.素朴な; 率直な; 直情的な; 気取らない

ラテン語のingenuus, 生まれる, 高貴に生まれる, in-, 入る, 作る, 内にある, -gen, 生殖する, 生まれる, の語源はgene, gentleと同じ。もともとは、高貴に生まれること、それから派生した語源は、誠実な, 純朴な, 無邪気な、しかし現在はnaive, simpleの侮蔑的な意味で使われる。

ingenuous

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.

1. He seemed too ingenuous for a reporter.

記者として、彼は正直すぎる。

2.It is ingenuous to suppose that money did not play a part in his decision.

彼の決定にお金の要素がないと思っているのであれば、あまりにも甘い。

3.He found her charming,but perhaps just a shade too ingenuous for him.

彼は彼女を魅力的だと思っているが、彼にとっては少し甘すぎるかもしれない。

4.With ingenuous sincerity,he captivated his audience.

彼は自分の率直さで観衆を魅了した。

5.The ingenuous boy gave an account of his act,concealing nothing.

おとなしい男の子は彼の行為を隠すことなく説明した。