DictionaryRoot: -entia
Latin
-entia
a state or quality
Forms
- -entia
- -ence — The ending shortened through French.
- -ency — An English form used in some nouns.
Origin
Formed in Latin from -ent-, describing someone or something doing an action, plus a noun ending.
Note
A temporary activity can become the name of a lasting quality.
45 / 68
noun
innocence
IN-uh-suhns/ˈɪnəsns/
Freedom from participation in wrongdoing.
Etymology
The underlying idea is ‘not harming’: Latin innocens meant both harmless and blameless. Innocence names that condition of doing no wrong, hence freedom from guilt or blame.
Related word entries
- abstinence
- adherence
- adolescence
- affluence
- agency
- appearance
- assistance
- audiencePeople receiving a presentation or message
- audienceFormal meeting
- coherence
- competence
- competency
- concurrence
- conference
- confidence
- confluence
- consequence
- convenience
- correspondence
- credenceChurch table
- credenceBelief
- decadence
- decency
- deficiency
- dependence
- difference
- differential
- differentiate
- diligence
- divergence
- effulgence
- eloquence
- evidence
- excellency
- existence
- experience
- florescence
- imprudence
- impudence
- incidence
- indecency
- indifference
- indolence
- inference
- innocence
- intelligenceGathered information
- intelligenceMental ability
- irreverence
- malevolence
- munificence
- negligence
- obedience
- occurrence
- penitence
- preference
- prevalence
- providence
- pubescence
- regency
- residence
- reticence
- reverence
- subsistence
- sufferance
- sustenance
- tendency
- translucence
- transparency