Hypertext Webster Gateway: "ingenious"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ingenious \In*gen"ious\, a. [L. ingeniosus, fr. ingenium innate
or natural quality, natural capacity, genius: cf. F.
ing['e]nieux. See {Engine}.]
1. Possessed of genius, or the faculty of invention; skillful
or promp to invent; having an aptitude to contrive, or to
form new combinations; as, an ingenious author, mechanic.
A man . . . very wise and ingenious in feats of war.
--Hakluyt.
Thou, king, send out For torturers ingenious.
--Shak.
The more ingenious men are, the more apt are they to
trouble themselves. --Sir W.
Temple.
2. Proseeding from, pertaining to, or characterized by,
genius or ingenuity; of curious design, structure, or
mechanism; as, an ingenious model, or machine; an
ingenious scheme, contrivance, etc.
Thus men go wrong with an ingenious skill. --Cowper.
3. Witty; shrewd; adroit; keen; sagacious; as, an ingenious
reply.
4. Mental; intellectual. [Obs.]
A course of learning and ingenious studies. --Shak.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
ingenious
adj 1: (used of persons or artifacts) marked by independence and
creativity in thought or action; "an imaginative use
of material"; "the invention of the knitting frame by
another ingenious English clergyman"- Lewis Mumford;
"an ingenious device"; "had an inventive turn of
mind"; "inventive ceramics" [syn: {imaginative}, {inventive}]
2: skillful (or showing skill) in adapting means to ends; "cool
prudence and sensitive selfishness along with quick
perception of what is possible--these distinguish an
adroit politician"; "came up with a clever story"; "an
ingenious press agent"; "an ingenious scheme" [syn: {adroit},
{clever}]
3: showing inventiveness and skill; "a clever gadget"; "the
cunning maneuvers leading to his success""; "an ingenious
solution to the problem" [syn: {clever}, {cunning}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.