SOURCE 01supportshistorical dictionary
Intelligent — Word History
Publishes the Latin morphological analysis behind intelligens.
inter- + legere- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
PERMANENT DISPUTE RECORD
ALL DISPUTES ↗CLAIM / COUNTERCLAIM / LIMITRECORD 25
DISPUTE
RECORD.
One scholarly question. Every attached source. The present editorial state, without pretending the last word has been written.
openprobable
Does intelligence literally mean “choosing between”?
The Latin form is traditionally analyzed through inter- and legere, and selection or discernment informs the semantic history. A literal gloss is not a complete account of cognition.
WORD UNDER REVIEWDISPUTE 25
intelligence
/ɪnˈtɛlɪdʒəns/ · noun
Capacity for understanding, information, or the organizations that gather it; inherited through French from Latin intelligentia.
01
DIRECT CLAIM EVIDENCE
2 SOURCES WITH A STANCE
A citation is not a vote. Each record says whether the work supports, challenges, contradicts, or contextualizes the position—and identifies the exact locus used.
SOURCE 02contextlexical database
Logeion: intellegō
Supplies the Latin lexical evidence without reducing modern intelligence to a root gloss.
intellegō- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Classics Department Editors
- YEAR
- Not recorded
- PUBLISHER
- University of Chicago
02 / EDITORIAL STATE
THE QUESTION REMAINS OPEN.
- CONFIDENCE
- probable
- STATUS
- open
- LEGACY SOURCE SUMMARY
- Merriam-Webster: intelligent; Logeion: intellegō
The reviewed evidence does not yet warrant collapsing the competing or incomplete analyses into one secure answer.