ingenium

Latin

Etymology

From in- +‎ gignō +‎ -ium.

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /inˈɡe.ni.um/, [ɪŋˈɡɛniʊ̃ˑ]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /inˈd͡ʒe.ni.um/, [in̠ʲˈd͡ʒɛːnium]

Noun

ingenium n (genitive ingeniī or ingenī); second declension

innate or natural quality, natural character; nature
Synonyms: indolēs, mēns, habitus, nātūra, character
disposition, temper, inclination
intelligence, natural capacity
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.
a man of genius, a genius
(Medieval Latin) machine, engine

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ingenium	ingenia
Genitive	ingeniī ingenī¹	ingeniōrum
Dative	ingeniō	ingeniīs
Accusative	ingenium	ingenia
Ablative	ingeniō	ingeniīs
Vocative	ingenium	ingenia

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

Descendants

Catalan: enginy
English: engine
French: engin
Italian: ingegno
Norman: engîn (Jersey)
Old Portuguese: engẽyo
- Galician: enxeño
- Portuguese: engenho
Sicilian: gnegnu
Spanish: engeño, ingenio

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