Etymograph

English

engenho

Engenho comes from Portuguese engenho ‘machine’, from Latin ingenium ‘innate or natural quality, natural character’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce, beget’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-1‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵíǵn̥h₁eti1‘to engender’reconstructedreduplicated present stem of *ǵenh₁-
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gignō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgignō2‘to bring forth as a fruit of oneself: to bear, to beget, to engender, to give birth to’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEingenium3‘innate or natural quality, natural character’
  6. Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500engenno3
  7. Portuguesec. 1500–presentengenho3‘machine’
  8. Englishtodayengenho3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin gigno
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin ingenium
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English engenho

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-Wiktionary, Latin gigno‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵíǵn̥h₁etiWiktionary, Latin gigno‘to engender’reconstructedreduplicated present stem of *ǵenh₁-
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gignōWiktionary, Latin gignoreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgignōWiktionary, Latin ingenium‘to bring forth as a fruit of oneself: to bear, to beget, to engender, to give birth to’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEingeniumWiktionary, English engenho‘innate or natural quality, natural character’
  6. Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500engennoWiktionary, English engenho
  7. Portuguesec. 1500–presentengenhoWiktionary, English engenho‘machine’
  8. EnglishtodayengenhoWiktionary, English engenho

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce, beget’

kind, general, nature, nation, king, german, native, pregnant, generation, gender, genuine, ken, generate, indigenous, generous, oxygen, gene, naive, gentle, kin, genre, noel, hydrogen, genocide, innate, natal, nee, genus, nativity, nada, janata, germ, nascent, puny, cognate, gentile, jaunty, glycogen, gens, azadi, 104 more

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵíǵn̥h₁eti ‘to engender’

genetic, 8 more

through Proto-Italic *gignō

genitalia, 2 more

through Latin gignō ‘to bring forth as a fruit of oneself: to bear,…’

engineer, genius, genital, 3 more

through Latin ingenium ‘innate or natural quality, natural character’

engine, ingenious, 2 more

Today it means

noun A sugar mill in colonial Brazil.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “engenho”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin gigno, Latin ingenium. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / engenho

Shirt and support for this word