ingegno

ingenuity, wit

noun een-JEH-nyoh Rare

Origin: Latin ingenium (innate quality, talent)

Also means

talent, genius

Usage Note

Ingegno stresses natural intellectual ability or cleverness, overlapping with genio but feeling more practical and craft-oriented. The phrase colpo d'ingegno ('stroke of genius') is common in informal speech. The adjective ingegnoso means 'ingenious', while ingegnere (engineer) shares the same Latin root.

Examples

"Ha risolto il problema con grande ingegno."

Natural Translation

He solved the problem with great ingenuity.

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