Where does the word “innocuous” originate from? What is the root and what does it mean?
in·noc·u· ous [i-nok-yoo-uhs] –adjective 1. not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy. 2. not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark. 3. not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid: an innocuous novel. [Origin: 1590–1600; < L innocuus. See in-3, nocuous] Pronunciation: in-nah-kyu-wês • Hear it! Part of Speech: Adjective Meaning: 1. Harmless, causing no injury; not venomous (snakes). 2. Insipid, inoffensive, all but unnoticeable. Notes: Today's Good Word is the negative of nocuous, a word losing ground to a distant cousin noxious. It has a standard adverb, innocuously and noun, innocuousness. You may also use the rarer noun, innocuity, if you are a bit daring. The word history should help you remember that this word is a combination of in- "not" + nocuous "harmful", requiring a double N. Don't forget the two Us separated by an O, either. In Play: Something nocuous might cause physical or mental anguish: "It was an innocuous re
