Etymograph

English

innocency

Innocency comes from Latin innocentia ‘innocence’, from nocēns ‘guilt, transgression’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *neḱ- ‘perish, disappear’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*neḱ-1‘perish, disappear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*noḱ-éye-ti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nokeō1‘to harm, hurt, injure’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnoceō2‘harm’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnocēns3as nocentia‘guilt, transgression’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinnocentia4‘innocence’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500innocencie4
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1603innocency4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin noceo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin nocens
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin innocentia
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English innocency
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “The verie names of Goodnesse and innocentie, are for…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*neḱ-Wiktionary, Latin noceo‘perish, disappear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*noḱ-éye-tiWiktionary, Latin noceoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nokeōWiktionary, Latin noceo‘to harm, hurt, injure’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnoceōWiktionary, Latin nocens‘harm’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnocēnsWiktionary, Latin innocentiaas nocentia‘guilt, transgression’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinnocentiaWiktionary, English innocency‘innocence’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500innocencieWiktionary, English innocency
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1603innocencyWiktionary, English innocency. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “The verie names of Goodnesse and innocentie, are for…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *neḱ- ‘perish, disappear’

nectar, obnoxious, necropolis, internecine, 19 more

through Latin noceō ‘harm’

nuisance, noxious, innocuous, 14 more

Today it means

noun Synonym of innocence: Harmlessness.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “innocency”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin noceo, Latin nocens, Latin innocentia. 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 *neḱ- / innocency

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