Etymograph

English

intelligentsia

Intelligentsia comes from Latin intellegentia ‘intelligence’, from intellegēns ‘understanding, discerning’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leg- ‘to care for’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂leg-1‘to care for’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂légeti1uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legō1uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintellegō1‘to understand, comprehend, realize, come to know’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintellegēns1‘understanding, discerning’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintellegentia2‘intelligence’
  7. Polishmoderninteligencja3
  8. Russianmodernинтеллиге́нция2intelligéncijauncertain
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1941intelligentsia2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin intellegentia
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English intelligentsia
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Russian интеллигенция
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1941, George Orwell: “It should be noted that there is now no…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂leg-Wiktionary, Latin intellegentia‘to care for’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂légetiWiktionary, Latin intellegentiauncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legōWiktionary, Latin intellegentiauncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintellegōWiktionary, Latin intellegentia‘to understand, comprehend, realize, come to know’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintellegēnsWiktionary, Latin intellegentia‘understanding, discerning’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintellegentiaWiktionary, English intelligentsia‘intelligence’
  7. PolishmoderninteligencjaWiktionary, Russian интеллигенция
  8. Russianmodernинтеллиге́нцияWiktionary, English intelligentsiaintelligéncijauncertain
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1941intelligentsiaWiktionary, English intelligentsia. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1941, George Orwell: “It should be noted that there is now no…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂leg- ‘to care for’

leech, analgesic, analgesia, 11 more

through Proto-Italic *legō

election, collection, lesson, select, collective, elite, eligible, elect, legion, collector, coil, elegant, negligence, negligible, cull, negligent, legation, diligent, ineligibility, 23 more

through Latin intellegō ‘to understand, comprehend, realize, come to know’

intellectual, 4 more

Today it means

noun The intellectual elite of a society, particularly in Marxist doctrine.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “intelligentsia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin intellegentia, Russian интеллигенция. 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 *h₂leg- / intelligentsia

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