ingenua
/inˈxenwa/ · B2 · noun · f
naif
🌸 in- (not) + genua ~ 'born-free' → innocent, unworldly girl; sounds like 'in-HEN-wa'
From Latin ingenua, 'free-born, candid': in- (within) + gignere (to beget). Free-born people were seen as frank and open, which drifted to meaning a naive, guileless young woman. Spanish ingenua keeps the same sense as English ingénue.