innocentadj.n.

Brit.

/ˈɪnəsnt/, U.S.

/ˈɪnəs(ə)nt/

Forms: Also Middle English innos(s)ent, in-oscente, Middle English–1500s innocente, ynnocent, Middle English–1500s inocent(e.

Etymology: < French innocent, Old French plural -enz , -ens (Roland, 11th cent.), < Latin innocēnt-em , < in- (in- prefix⁴) + nocēnt-em, present participle of nocēre to hurt, injure.

A. adj.

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?

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. Ciiii^v 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.

b. figurative. Spotless, stainless.

ΘΚΠ

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.

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. clviij^v 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.

in extended use.1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. ii. sig. B6 Of whose most innocent death When tidings came to mee vnhappy maid.

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.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 93 The Peasant, innocent of all these Ills.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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!

†b. One innocent of a charge, or undeserving of the punishment inflicted; a guiltless person: see A. 2. Obsolete.

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. xv^v 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.

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, þ^t 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. xxxiiij^v 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.

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).

单词	innocent
释义	innocentadj.n. Brit. /ˈɪnəsnt/, U.S. /ˈɪnəs(ə)nt/ Forms: Also Middle English innos(s)ent, in-oscente, Middle English–1500s innocente, ynnocent, Middle English–1500s inocent(e. Etymology: < French innocent, Old French plural -enz , -ens (Roland, 11th cent.), < Latin innocēnt-em , < in- (in- prefix⁴) + nocēnt-em, present participle of nocēre to hurt, injure. A. adj. 1. 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? 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. Ciiii^v 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 b. figurative. Spotless, stainless. ΘΚΠ 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. 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. clviij^v 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. in extended use.1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. ii. sig. B6 Of whose most innocent death When tidings came to mee vnhappy maid. 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. 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! †b. One innocent of a charge, or undeserving of the punishment inflicted; a guiltless person: see A. 2. Obsolete. 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. xv^v 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, þ^t 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. xxxiiij^v 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). < adj.n.13..
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