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na·ive·té or na·ïve·té

(nī′ēv-tā, nä′-, nī-ēvĭ-tā′, nä-)

1. The state or quality of being inexperienced or unsophisticated, especially in being artless, credulous, or uncritical.

2. An artless, credulous, or uncritical statement or act.

[French naïveté, from Old French naivete, native disposition, from naif, artless; see NAIVE.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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