naivety
Meaning
lack of experience, wisdom, or judgement; innocent simplicity.
Structure
Usage
his political naivety was evident in his overly idealistic proposals.
there is a certain charming naivety in her paintings of the countryside.
the scam preyed on the naivety of elderly investors.
Etymology
the word 'naivety' traces its lineage to the latin adjective 'nativus', meaning 'native' or 'innate'. this evolved into the old french 'naïf', describing someone in a natural, unspoiled state, free from artificiality. borrowed into english in its feminine form 'naïve', the abstract noun 'naivety' was formed by appending the common noun-forming suffix '-ety', derived from latin '-tatem', which indicates a quality or condition. thus, the literal 'state of being native/natural' evolved into the modern meaning denoting a lack of worldly experience or guile.
Analysis
naiv: from french 'naïf' (feminine 'naïve'), meaning natural, artless, simple; ultimately from latin 'nativus' meaning native, natural. ety: a suffix forming nouns of quality or state, from old french '-té', from latin '-tatem' (nominative '-tas').