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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2 |
Can you help me understand this word?
Frank Rich in the Sunday NY Times on 10/28/07 wrote this sentence: “You have absolutely nothing to fear from me,” Rudy [Giuliani]disingenuously told the assembled at the Values Voter Summit last weekend.
I understand the definition from American Heritage Dictionary: 1. Not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating: “an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who … exemplified … the most disagreeable traits of his time” (David Cannadine).
Wouldn't the root "genuous" mean true, so in-genuous mean not-true (for example, in-sincere). So would dis-in-genuous mean not-not-true, a double negative? Just wondering.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
there is no English form genuous, OED gives the derivation as from L. ingenu-us native, inborn, free-born, having the qualities of a freeman, noble, frank (f. in- (IN˛) + gen-, stem of gignere to beget) + -OUS.
this use of the prefix in- was probably meant as an intensive - in any case, it's not a negation.
so, disingenuous is 'not ingenuous'.
note: occasionally the prefix dis- also acts as intensive (but not here, according to the AHD usage mavens).
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2 |
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
this use of the prefix in- was probably meant as an intensive - in any case, it's not a negation
Yes. Another use of in- as an intensive prefix is in inflammable and possibly in irregardless.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Mm--as in, we would say 'he was inflamed by that remark', but never 'he was flamed...'.
We had a thread, or at least a couple of posts, one time, about flammable and inflammable. (Was going to put vs., but.)
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154 |
Disingenuous usually gives me the impression of pretended sincerity and innocence of mind. But that may be becouse I mix it up with ingenue.
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