Etymology

naive

na·ive
N1A1I1V4E1

Today it means: Lacking worldly experience, wisdom, or judgement; unsophisticated. Full definition →

French naïve
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The story

  1. Frenchnaïf
  2. Frenchnaïve
  3. English todaynaive

Borrowed from French naïve, feminine form of naïf, from Latin nātīvus (“native, natural”). Doublet of native.

Words from the same roots

Latinnātīvus all →

neifnief

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.