ingenuity

English

Etymology

From Latin ingenuitās.

Pronunciation

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Noun

ingenuity (usually uncountable, plural ingenuities)

1. The ability to solve difficult problems, often in original, clever, and inventive ways.

   The pyramids demonstrate the ingenuity of the ancient Egyptians.

   Poverty is the mother of ingenuity.

   Ingenuity is one of the characteristics of a beaver.

2. (now rare) Ingenuousness; honesty, straightforwardness.
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.17:

     And therefore I apply my selfe to ingenuitie, and ever to speake truth and what I think […].

Translations

ability to come up with solutions to difficult problems

• Catalan: enginy m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 發明才能, 发明才能 (fāmíng cáinéng), 創造力, 创造力 (zh) (chuàngzàolì)

• Danish: snedighed
• Dutch: vernuft n
• Finnish: nerokkuus, nokkeluus
• French: ingéniosité (fr) f
• German: Einfallsreichtum (de) m, Findigkeit (de) f, Raffinesse (de) f, Scharfsinn m
• Hungarian: találékonyság, leleményesség
• Italian: ingegnosità, ingegno (it) m

• Japanese: 独創性 (どくそうせい, dokusōsei)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kløkt m

  Nynorsk: kløkt f

• Portuguese: engenhosidade f
• Russian: находчивость (ru) f (naxódčivost'), изобрететельность f (izobretátel'nost')
• Scottish Gaelic: eadar-ghnàth m
• Serbo-Croatian: inventivnost f, инвентивност f
• Spanish: ingenio (es) m
• Swedish: fyndighet c, sinnrikhet c, genialitet c
• Turkish: beceri (tr), hüner (tr), marifet (tr), ustalık (tr)

Related terms

• ingenious
• ingenuous

See also

• industriousness