innocentadj.n.
/ˈɪnəsnt/, U.S. /ˈɪnəs(ə)nt/ A. adj.
1. in extended use.a1513 W. Dunbar Tabill of Confessioun in Poems (1998) I. 273 Euery straik mak throu my hertis stound That euer did strenȝe thi fair flesche innocent.1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Ciiiiv That moste innocent body..of the immaculat lambe, christ Iesu.a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. i. 39 The big round teares Cours'd one another downe his [sc. a stag's] innocent nose In pitteous chase. View more context for this quotation
a. Of persons: Doing no evil; free from moral wrong, sin, or guilt (in general); pure, unpolluted. Usually (in modern use always) implying ‘unacquainted with evil’ (thus frequently of little children; whence passing into sense A. 5); but formerly sometimes in more general sense (e.g. of God or Christ), Sinless, holy.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > purity > innocence > [adjective]
bilewhitc890
chastea1340
innocenta1340
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter xvii. 28 With man innocent innocent þou sall be.
1382 J. Wyclif Psalms xxiii[i]. 4 The innocent in hondis and in clene herte.
1382 J. Wyclif Heb. vii. 26 Hooly, innosent, inpolute, departid fro synful men.
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 67/1 The lamentable murther of his innoocent nephewes, the young king and his tender brother.
1556 tr. J. de Flores Histoire de Aurelio & Isabelle sig. I7 Be the handes of God was the firste woman createde, innocente, and withoute spotte.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 200 Many Innocent Infants, whom the Mothers had hid..were Murdered and Buried there.
1691 T. Shadwell Royal Shepherdess (new ed.) iii. 26 They are the happ'est innocent'st people in the World.
1785 W. Cowper Task i. 494 The innocent are gay—the lark is gay.
1851 F. D. Maurice Patriarchs & Law-givers (1867) ii. 51 When we say that God made man innocent, What do we mean?
b. figurative. Spotless, stainless.
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the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > [adjective]
cleanc897
fair?c1225
netc1330
cleanly1340
unspotted1382
blotless?a1400
unwemmeda1400
spotlessc1400
neat1494
unblotted1548
unstained1555
stainlessa1586
exempt1586
unsoiledc1592
undefiled1596
unsullied1598
dirtlessa1618
immaculatea1631
innocent1645
unsmeared1648
unsmutched1809
speckless1827
spandy-clean1838
unblackened1864
soilless1868
smudgeless1924
clinical1932
squeaky clean1975
1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn ii, in Poems 3 She woo's the gentle Air To hide her guilty front with innocent Snow.
2. in extended use.1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. ii. sig. B6 Of whose most innocent death When tidings came to mee vnhappy maid.
a. Free from specific wrong or guilt; that has not committed the particular offence charged or in question; not deserving of the punishment or suffering inflicted; not guilty, guiltless, unoffending. innocent blood, the blood (or life) of the innocent. innocent party [party n. 6] , in matrimonial proceedings, the person adjudged to be innocent. Since the Divorce Reform Act 1969 the usage has been legally obsolete in England, since that Act abolished the concept of a matrimonial offence as a ground for divorce and substituted for it the concept of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > [noun] > as possession
headOE
lifeOE
heart-blood?c1225
innocent blood1382
heart's-blood1562
fanny1936
ass1948
butt1964
arse1970
society > morality > virtue > purity > innocence > [adjective] > free from guilt
unguiltyc893
sacklessa1000
freeOE
unfakenOE
guiltlessc1175
unguiltlessc1330
innocent1382
cleana1400
unsakeda1400
clearc1400
faultlessa1535
unfaulty1548
crimeless1568
untaxablea1610
innoxious1623
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > party in litigation > [noun] > innocent party in matrimonial case
innocent party1729
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) 1 Sam. xxvi. 9 Who shal stretche his hoond into the crist of the Lord, and shal be innocent?
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Psalms xciii[i]. 21 The innocent blod thei shul condempne.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope 1 Ye shold do grete synne yf ye dyd put this Innocent and gyltles to deth.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxvii. f. xl I have synned betraynge the innocent bloud.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clviijv The bloudde of the Innocente man was with his dolorous death, recompensed.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxi. 109 A Soveraign Prince, that putteth to death an Innocent Subject.
1670 A. Marvell Let. 28 Nov. in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 318 The Lieutenancy..pick out Hays and Jekill, the innocentest of the whole Party, to shew their Power on.
1729 G. Jacob New Law-dict. Divorce: In Divorces for Adultery, several Acts of Parliament have allowed the Innocent Party to marry again.
1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. II. xxxvi. 286 Persons not lying under any sense of attainder were still innocent in the eye of the law.
1835 Tomlins's Law Dict. (ed. 4) I. at Divorce The commissioners appointed by Henry VIII. and Edward VI...recommend divorces à mensa et thoro to be abolished, and complete divorces to be allowed for adultery, desertion, bad treatment, &c., the innocent party to be allowed to marry again.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. (1871) I. ii. 117 While innocent blood was shedding under the forms of justice.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. (1871) II. vi. 41 The innocent began to breathe freely, and false accusers to tremble.
1948 J. H. S. Bossard Sociol. of Child Devel. xvi. 369 One principle usually observed is that custody goes to the so-called innocent party.
1958 Daily Mail 3 July 4/8 When are we going to hear the last of that time-worn phrase so beloved of newspaper columnists and the legal profession—‘innocent party’?
1959 Earl Jowitt & C. Walsh Dict. Eng. Law I. 67/2 The Matrimonial Causes Act, 1857..created a Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes..which would grant to the innocent party a divorce a mensa et thoro on the ground of the other's adultery.
b. Const. of (formerly also from).
ΚΠ
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxvii. f. xlj I am innocent of the bloud of this iuste person.
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 42/2 I dare well aunswere for myne vncle Riuers and my brother here, that thei be innocent of any such matters.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. i. 69 Our Kinsman Gloster is as innocent, From meaning Treason to our Royall Person, As is the sucking Lambe, or harmelesse Doue. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 93 The Peasant, innocent of all these Ills. View more context for this quotation
1814 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Vision III. xxv. 105 Innocent of worse intent Than to do fitting honour to the bride.
1900 N.E.D. at Innocent Mod. Entirely innocent of the crime with which he was charged.
c. colloquial with of: Free from; devoid of. (A humorous transference or weakening of A. 2b.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > non-possession > [adjective] > devoid of something
nakedeOE
toomOE
windia1225
skerec1250
freea1325
expertc1374
unbeseen1390
vacanta1400
devoidc1400
indigent1490
waste1513
clear1569
divesta1679
viduate1692
innocent1706
divested1742
sincerea1754
virgin1889
1706 J. Addison Rosamond Prol. The Opera..Enrich'd with songs, but innocent of thought.
1743 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) I. 428 The Sermon..was quite innocent of meaning.
1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. 180 His clothes..were quite innocent of a fit.
1884 J. Colborne With Hicks Pasha in Soudan 60 The windows are small apertures..innocent of glass.
3.
a. Having or showing the simplicity, ignorance, artlessness, or unsuspecting nature of a child or one ignorant of the world; devoid of cunning or artifice; simple, guileless, unsuspecting; hence, artless, naive, ingenuous.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > unaffectedness or naturalness > [adjective] > artless, guileless, or innocent
simple?c1225
innocenta1382
simple-hearted?c1425
unsubtlea1500
indolec1550
naïfc1598
sacklessa1600
plain-hearted1601
unnooked1602
unguileful1604
onefold1606
naivea1614
innocentious1624
innocential1628
excuseless1640
uncrafty1647
craftless1650
ingenuousa1662
innocentive1661
unartful1703
artless1714
ingénue1848
blue-eyed1903
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. xxii. 3 The innocent passede and is tormentid with harm.
c1386 G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale 218 Grisilde of this, god woot, ful Innocent That for hire shapen was al this array.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 169 Ful ofte Deceived ben with wordes softe The kinges, that ben innocent.
c1440 Generydes 951 Of all this werk the kyng was innocent And of ther falsed no thing perceyuyd.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Rest of Esther xvi. A Which also with false and disceatfull wordes..disceaue and betraye the innocent goodnes of prynces.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 118. ⁋3 For all she looks so innocent as it were, take my Word for it she is no Fool.
1859 C. Reade Love me Little xiv Shall I tell you your real character?..You are an innocent fox!
1875 A. W. Ward Hist. Eng. Dramatic Lit. I. 7 Chaucer indeed made a very innocent use of the words tragedy and comedy when he applied them simply to poems ending happily or unhappily.
b. Deficient in intelligence or sense; silly, half-witted, imbecile: cf. B. 3b. Now dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > weakness of intellect > simplicity, simple-mindedness > [adjective]
weak1423
simple-hearted?c1425
good1480
innocent1548
plain-headeda1586
simple1604
green1605
zany1616
soft1621
ungifted1637
softly1652
half-witted1712
simple-minded1749
simpletonic1780
simpletonian1800
sawney1805
simpletonish1819
simply disposed1848
putty-headed1857
cabbage-looking1898
goonish1921
wally1922
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxix That he was either a childe, whiche had nede of norice..or an innocent creature, whiche muste be ruled by a tutor.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccx He was a man of no great wit, suche as men comonly call an Innocent man, neither a foole, neither very wyse.
1688 in J. Barmby Churchwardens' Accts. Pittington (1888) 342 To John Dods for keeping the innocent boy, 1l.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Innocent, inoffensive,..harmless, also simple, or silly.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) (at cited word) ‘An innocent man’..is an extremely common expression for a silly fellow.
4. Of actions, etc.: Free from guilt or moral evil; not arising from or involving any evil intent or motive. Often blending with A. 5: Producing no morally bad result; morally harmless.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > purity > innocence > [adjective] > of actions
innocent?1518
faultless1556
?1518 A. Barclay Fyfte Eglog sig. Bij Ryght so he named, men meke and pacyent His flocke and his shepe, for maners innocent.
1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. xv. sig. Gg2 The Innocentest use that we are wont to make of our time.
1676 tr. G. Guillet de Saint-Georges Acct. Voy. Athens 214 Mahometan Ladies..would come to his House to play their innocent tricks.
1728 B. Franklin Wks. (1887) I. 310 I think no Pleasure innocent, that is to Man hurtful.
1848 A. Tod Disc. 102 I mean not to condemn innocent hilarity.
1893 Sir J. W. Chitty in Law Times Rep. 68 429/1 The case..is one, not of innocent misrepresentation, but of fraudulent misrepresentation.
5.
a. Of things: Doing no harm; producing no ill effect or result; not injurious; harmless, innocuous. (In Pathology opposed to malignant.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > [adjective] > safe or not dangerous > safe or harmless
unshathyOE
unbalefulOE
unscathefulc1175
unscathelya1400
unscathing1437
unnoyingc1440
unshendingc1450
unnoyous1483
harmless1533
unharmful1538
unhurtful1549
dintless1558
white1567
offenceless1581
inoffensive1598
unhurting1613
illaesive1628
innocuous1631
unmalignant1633
innoxious1638
inobnoxious1659
unvenomous1659
innocent1662
unafflictinga1711
unmolesting1767
fangless1790
unharming1796
woundless1796
uninjurious1809
uninjuring1820
unmischievous1821
scarless1823
boltless1832
inoffending1853
defanged1920
non-injury1926
anodyne1933
declawed1945
1662 H. More Gen. Coll. Philos. Writings (1712) Pref. Gen. 20 How innocent and inoffensive that doctrine was in the more pure and intemerate Ages of the Church.
1703 W. Dampier Voy. New Holland ii. 68 A sort of..Calabash or Gourd-kind..It is of a sharp and pleasing Taste, and is very innocent.
1712 E. Budgell Spectator No. 283. ¶17 His Powder upon Examination being found very innocent.
1718 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad IV. xv. 547 The Shaft with brazen Head Fell innocent, and on the Dust, lay dead.
1758 R. Griffiths Descr. Thames 207 The Flesh is white, soft, innocent, and nourishing.
1804 J. Abernethy Surg. Observ. 94 (note) Tumours of an innocent nature commonly increase in an equal ratio.
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. III. 370 Pressure on these nerves in innocent stricture of the gullet is rare.
b. That does not transgress the law; lawful. innocent conveyance, a conveyance which does not have any tortious operation, one which does not create a discontinuance or result in forfeiture.All conveyances are now innocent by statute in England and in the United States.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > transfer of property > [noun] > types of
limitation1651
lease and release1670
innocent conveyance1811
society > law > rule of law > [adjective] > law-abiding > not transgressing the law
honestc1540
unoffending1569
unfraudulent1590
innocent1811
law-abiding1839
uncriminal1864
infelonious1876
1811 E. B. Sugden Gilbert's Law of Uses & Trusts (ed. 3) 232 A conveyance by lease and release is like a bargain and sale, and covenant to stand seised what is termed an innocent conveyance.
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Innocent..4. Lawful; permitted; as, an innocent trade. 5. Not contraband; not subject to forfeiture; as, innocent goods carried to a belligerent nation. Kent.
1841 H. J. Stephen New Comm. Laws Eng. I. 508 The other conveyances can, in their nature, pass no more than the grantor might lawfully transfer. For this reason, they have received, by way of distinction from a feoffment, (and others now abolished of the like nature,) the appellation of innocent conveyances.
1848 J. J. S. Wharton Law Lexicon 322/2 Innocent conveyances, a covenant to stand seised, a bargain and sale, and release, so called, because since they convey the actual possession by construction of law only, they do not confer a larger estate in property than the person conveying possesses.
1937 W. S. Holdsworth Hist. Eng. Law VII. 357 Both a bargain and sale and a covenant to stand seised were, unlike a feoffment, ‘innocent’ conveyances.
B. n. (In 4 plural innocens, innocenz, -ntz.)
1. † b. One innocent of a charge, or undeserving of the punishment inflicted; a guiltless person: see A. 2. Obsolete.
a. An innocent person; one not disposed to do harm, or unacquainted with evil: see A. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > purity > innocence > [noun] > person
lambc1000
innocent13..
innocencec1400
innocency1827
c1200 Vices & Virtues 79 Se ðe ne nimð none mede of ða innocentes, ðat bien uneilinde menn ðe none manne euel ne willeð.]
13.. Ipotis 71 (Vernon MS.) in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 342 Þe feorþe heuene is gold iliche..To Innocens þat place is diht.
c1386 G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale 275 Ye..chiden heere the sely Innocent Youre wyf that is so meke and pacient.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 175 All to deceive an innocent, Whiche woll not be of her assent.
1483 Cath. Angl. 196/2 An Innocent, innocens, innoxius.
?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 48 Be of ȝour luke like innocentis, thoght ȝe haif euill myndis.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. ii. 206 Thou hast kild the sweetest innocent, That ere did lift vp eye. View more context for this quotation
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 198. ¶1 (Like good queen Emma) the pretty Innocent walks blindfold among burning Plow-shares, without being scorched or singed by them.
1873 R. Browning Red Cotton Night-cap Country iii. 205 A pair of innocents Who thought their wedded hands not clean enough To touch and leave unsullied their souls' snow!
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > purity > innocence > [noun] > freedom from guilt > person
innocentc1340
spotless1652
c1340 R. Rolle Prose Treat. 11 Thay are slaers gastely..þat defames men, and þat confoundes innocentys.
c1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. (1898) 53 To helpe simple men, to vpbere þe defautes of Innocentz.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xii. f. xvv Ye wold never have condemned innocentes.
1631 in S. R. Gardiner Rep. Cases Star Chamber & High Comm. (1886) 49 For hope of gaine he had combyned with the Lord Sarsfield to indict, convict, and execute one Philip Bushell, an innocent, for a supposed murther.
1707 J. Chamberlayne Angliæ Notitia (ed. 22) iii. viii. 339 Those who shall conspire to indict an Innocent falsely and maliciously of Felony.
1751 S. Richardson Clarissa (ed. 3) IV. xvii. 82 You will save from ruin a multitude of innocents.
2.
a. esp. A young child, as being free from actual sin, or unacquainted with evil (see A. 1); spec. in plural (with capital), the young children slain by Herod after the birth of Jesus (Matthew ii. 16), reckoned from early times as Christian martyrs (also called the Holy Innocents).
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > child > [noun]
wenchelc890
childeOE
littleOE
littlingOE
hired-childc1275
smalla1300
brolla1325
innocentc1325
chickc1330
congeonc1330
impc1380
faunt1382
young onec1384
scionc1390
weea1400
birdc1405
chickenc1440
enfaunta1475
small boyc1475
whelp1483
burden1490
little one1509
brat?a1513
younkerkin1528
kitling1541
urchin1556
loneling1579
breed1586
budling1587
pledge?1587
ragazzo1591
simplicity1592
bantling1593
tadpole1594
two-year-old1594
bratcheta1600
lambkin1600
younker1601
dandling1611
buda1616
eyas-musketa1616
dovelinga1618
whelplinga1618
puppet1623
butter printa1625
chit1625
piggy1625
ninnyc1626
youngster1633
fairya1635
lap-child1655
chitterling1675
squeaker1676
cherub1680
kid1690
wean1692
kinchin1699
getlingc1700
totum17..
charity-child1723
small girl1734
poult1739
elfin1748
piggy-wiggy1766
piccaninny1774
suck-thumb18..
teeny1802
olive1803
sprout1813
stumpie1820
sexennarian1821
totty1822
toddle1825
toddles1828
poppet1830
brancher1833
toad1836
toddler1837
ankle-biter1840
yarkera1842
twopenny1844
weeny1844
tottykins1849
toddlekins1852
brattock1858
nipper1859
sprat1860
ninepins1862
angelet1868
tenas man1870
tad1877
tacker1885
chavvy1886
joey1887
toddleskin1890
thumb-sucker1891
littlie1893
peewee1894
tyke1894
che-ild1896
kiddo1896
mother's bairn1896
childling1903
kipper1905
pick1905
small1907
God forbid1909
preadolescent1909
subadolescent1914
toto1914
snookums1919
tweenie1919
problem child1920
squirt1924
trottie1924
tiddler1927
subteen1929
perisher1935
poopsie1937
pre-schooler1937
pre-teen1938
pre-teener1940
juvie1941
sprog1944
pikkie1945
subteenager1947
pre-teenager1948
pint-size1954
saucepan lid1960
rug rat1964
smallie1984
bosom-child-
society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Biblical personages > other New Testament > [noun]
innocentc1325
the Sevenc1384
Cananaean1585
kill-Christ1647
myrrhophore1848
c1325 Lai Le Freine 164 And help this seli innocent, That it mot y-cristned be.
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter ii. 2 Herode, þt sloghe þe innocenz.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) ix. 36 Vnder þe cloistre..es þe Charnell of þe Innocentz, whare þaire banes lies.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. xxxiiijv When I was credibly enformed of the death of the.ii.younge innocentes, his awne natural nephewes.
1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper ii. 98 The seventh and last of these innocent creatures, is an innocent indeed, a child.
1704 R. Nelson Compan. Festivals & Fasts i. xxx. 324 The Martyrdome of the Holy Innocents.
1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. II. 264 A Venus, by Titian; the Massacre of the Innocents, Susanna, and Galatea, by Lanfranchi.
1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies v. 199 They were all there, except, of course, the babes of Bethlehem who were killed by wicked King Herod; for they were taken straight to heaven long ago, as everybody knows, and we call them the Holy Innocents.
b. (Holy) Innocents' Day, the 28th of December, observed as a church festival in commemoration of the slaughter of the Innocents. (Formerly called Childermas n.)
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Holy Innocents' Day (28 December) > [noun]
Childermas dayOE
(Holy) Innocents' Day1549
Childermas1625
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Celebr. Holye Communion f. xvi The Innocentes daye.
1658 E. Phillips New World Eng. Words Innocents day, the 28 of December..also called Childermas day.
1683 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 38 Innocents day..a very cold day.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth iv, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 133 I can make bodily oath to the bonnets I made for them since last Innocent's.
c. figurative in plural (Parliamentary slang.) Applied to measures ‘sacrificed’ at the end of a session for want of time; usually in massacre or slaughter of the innocents.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > procedure of parliament or national assembly > [noun] > measures sacrificed for want of time
innocent1859
1859 Times 20 July 7/3 (Farmer) The Leader of the House would have to go through that doleful operation called the massacre of the innocents.
1870 London Figaro 6 Aug. (Farmer) So vigorously has the slaughter of the innocents been proceeding that the Appropriation Bill was read a first time in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
1887 Spectator 20 Aug. At this period of the Session, amongst the ‘innocents’, this innocentest of the innocents is not destined to be spared the sacrificial knife.
3. (a) A guileless, simple, or unsuspecting person; one devoid of cunning or artifice. (b) One wanting in ordinary knowledge or intelligence; a simpleton, a silly fellow; a half-wit, an idiot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > unaffectedness or naturalness > [noun] > artlessness, guilessness, or innocence > person
innocentc1386
innocencec1400
puppy dog1651
innocency1727
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > person of weak intellect > [noun] > simpleton
innocentc1386
greenhead1576
gonyc1580
ninnyhammer1592
chicken1600
loach1605
simplician1605
hichcock1607
smelt1607
foppasty1611
dovea1616
goslinga1616
funge1621
simplicity1633
gewgaw1634
squab1640
simpletonian1652
ninny-whoop1653
softhead1654
foppotee1663
greenhorn1672
sumph1682
sawney1699
sillyton1708
gaby?1746
gobbin?1746
green goose1768
nin-a-kin1787
Jacob1811
green1824
sillikin1832
greeny1834
softhorn1836
sucker1838
softie1850
dope1851
soft1854
verigreen1854
peanut1864
daftie1872
josser1886
naïf1891
yapc1894
barm-stick1924
knobhead1931
sook1933
nig-nog1953
sawn1953
pronk1959
stiffy1965
c1386 G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Prol. & Tale 523 O sely preest, o sely Innocent With coueitise anon thou shalt be blent.
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 34 In bodye deformed, in minde foolishe, an innocent borne.
1593 R. Harvey Philadelphus 91 That he might do what he list in the kingdome under such an innocent and milksop.
1598 Faversham Par. Reg. (MS.) Buryed, Margery, an innocent from the Abby.
1694 R. L'Estrange Fables (ed. 6) ccccxxxviii. 475 There was just such another Innocent as this, in my Father's Family.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) An Innocent, an Idiot, or Ninny, a silly, half-witted Person.
1814 W. Scott Waverley I. ix. 123 ‘He is an innocent, sir’, said the butler... Waverley learned..from this colloquy; that in Scotland..a natural fool [was called] an innocent. View more context for this quotation
1838 G. P. R. James Robber I. vi. 118 The man is a poor innocent whom I have known this many a year.
4. Herbalism. = innocence n. 6. U.S. (Herb) St. Innocent (French Herbe de S. Innocent Cotgrave), Knot-grass, Polygonum aviculare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > non-British flowers > North American
innocent1600
lychnidea1733
swamp lily1737
atamasco lily1743
phlox1754
lychnis1760
painted cup1776
mountain pink1818
phacelia1818
innocence1821
Nemophila1822
clarkia1827
Physostegia1830
bitter root1838
standing cypress1841
false mermaid1845
lion's heart1845
shooting star1856
lewisia1863
satin flower1871
fame-flower1879
baby blue-eyes1887
mayflower1892
agastache1900
obedient plant1900
Pennsylvania anemone1900
rock rose1906
Virginia bluebell1934
parsley1936
poached egg flower1963
poached eggs1971
poached egg plant1977
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique i. xii. 62 Some doe make in like manner neck laces and bracelets of the herbe Saint Innocent.
1855 ‘M. Harland’ Hidden Path xxxiii. 410 Filling his hat with wild violets, sorrel and the frail, azure Innocents.
Compounds
In combinations of the adjective.
ΚΠ
1621 M. Wroth Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania 182 Twas not sillines..that made that innocent-like fashion shew in me.
1799 T. R. Malthus Diary 30 June (1966) 108 He was a remarkably meek & innocent looking man.
1830 Ld. Tennyson Lilian ii So innocent-arch, so cunning-simple.
1838 Lett. fr. Madras (1843) xxi. 213 Have you heard of the Cooly Trade? ‘Emigration of Hill Coolies to the Mauritius’ it is called, and divers other innocent-sounding names.
1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xxiii. 207 He came up quite innocent-like to the corner.
1860 F. Greenwood & J. Greenwood Under Cloud III. xiv. 307 The jovial, innocent-hearted actor.
1895 A. W. Pinero Second Mrs. Tanqueray i. 42 Paula..is..beautiful, fresh, innocent-looking.
1925 E. Blunden Eng. Poems 19 So innocent-gay was her look.
1955 E. Bowen World of Love xi. 212 Banks were innocent-blue with scabious.
1962 J. L. Austin's Sense & Sensibilia i. 4 In philosophy it is often good policy, where one member of a putative pair falls under suspicion, to view the more innocent-seeming party suspiciously as well.
1962 Y. Olsson in F. Behre Contrib. Eng. Syntax 87 Like innocent-looking people, even the most innocent-looking personal pronouns are deeper than one would be led to believe.
Draft additions 1993
Entirely free of responsibility for or involvement in an event, and yet suffering circumstantially from it. Also absol. with the. Frequently as innocent bystander, innocent victim.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > [adjective] > suffering circumstantially
innocent1825
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > [adjective] > not responsible or accountable > free of responsibility but affected
innocent1825
the mind > emotion > suffering > [noun] > sufferer > innocent
innocent bystander1942
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > [noun] > fact of not being responsible > one free of responsibility but affected
innocent bystander1942
1825 T. Hook Sayings & Doings 2nd Ser. II. 103 Because, says I to myself says I, it may save them-there unfortunate, innocent people.
1895 J. Conrad Almayer's Folly ix. 184 A man who..took the lives of innocent men to escape the punishment he deserved for breaking the law.
1939 G. B. Shaw Geneva 70 Laying a mine in the high seas to slaughter innocent travellers whose intentions,..if they have any intentions, are entirely friendly.
1942 E. Paul Narrow Street xxiv. 214 Among the innocent bystanders to suffer was Mlle. Jeanne Chautemps, niece of the Premier.
1965 A. J. P. Taylor Eng. Hist. 1914–45 xiv. 492 The Home Guard harrassed [[sic]] innocent citizens for their identity cards.
1985 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 3 Aug. 312/1 The drug and its antibody may have formed immune complexes that attached loosely to red cells and triggered complement activation, resulting in acute intravascular haemolysis; this is an ‘innocent bystander’ reaction.
1986 Listener 8 May 2/3 The terrorists didn't care much whether the plane might blow up over the United States, the Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom. The nature of terror is not to worry unduly about the innocent.
1990 Newsweek 16 July 24/3 Gunmen often don't show remorse for bystanders caught in the cross-fire. ‘Now they call those innocent victims “mushrooms”, meaning they get underfoot, so you trample them.’
Draft additions 1993
One involved by chance in a situation in which he or she has no part or influence, esp. a civilian injured in a military or terrorist attack.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > one who engages in an activity or occupation > one who takes part in an activity > who is involved by chance
innocent1978
mushroom1984
1978 R. V. Jones Most Secret War i. iii. 29 He seemed to be an innocent who had unwittingly strayed into a den of practical jokers.
1989 Independent 23 Nov. 36/2 Members of the US ‘Charlie Platoon’ confessed how, in 1968, they massacred a Vietnamese village, murdering more than 500 innocents.
1991 Time 15 July 36/1 Totalitarianism dies hard, taking innocents with it. But the Soviet military campaign against the Baltics has a spasmodic, last-gasp quality.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.13..- to go to war or wars
- to go to waste
- to go to work
- to go to wrack
- to go to wrack and ruin
- to go to wreche
- to go to wreck
- to go to wreck and ruin
- to go together
- to come after
- to come after someone with a sharp stick
- to come after with a sharp stick
- to come again
- to come alive
- to come all right
- to come all to pieces
- to come aloft
- to come along
- to come and go
- to come and see
- to come anoven
- to come anovenon
- to come apart
- to come around
- to come as a etc