innocent

Main Entry:: in·no·cent
Pronunciation:: \ˈi-nə-sənt\
Function:: adjective
Etymology:: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin innocent-, innocens, from in- + nocent-, nocens wicked, from present participle of nocēre to harm — more at noxious
Date:: 14th century

1 a: free from guilt or sin especially through lack of knowledge of evil : blameless <an innocent child> b: harmless in effect or intention <searching for a hidden motive in even the most innocent conversation — Leonard Wibberley>; also : candid <gave me an innocent gaze> c: free from legal guilt or fault; also : lawful <a wholly innocent transaction>2 a: lacking or reflecting a lack of sophistication, guile, or self-consciousness : artless, ingenuous b: ignorant <almost entirely innocent of Latin — C. L. Wrenn>; also : unaware <perfectly innocent of the confusion he had created — B. R. Haydon>3: lacking or deprived of something <her face innocent of cosmetics — Marcia Davenport>

— innocent noun

— in·no·cent·ly adverb

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