intriguant (French)
Where does "intriguant" come from?
This French word is the present participle of 'intriguer', which can be traced back to the Latin word 'intricare', meaning to entangle or perplex. It traveled through Italian as 'intrigare' before entering French, where it evolved from describing a state of confusion to the modern sense of plotting or sparking curiosity.
Full etymology tree
- intriguant (French), 'present participle of intriguer'
- derived from intriguer (French), 'to puzzle; to make interested or curious'
- borrowed from intrigare (Italian), 'to scheme, plot, intrigue'
- inherited from intrīcāre (Latin), 'inflection of intrīcō:'
- prefix in- (Latin), 'un-, non-, not'
- inherited from *ən- (Proto-Italic), 'un-'
- inherited from *n̥- (Proto-Indo-European), 'not, un-'
- derived from *né (Proto-Indo-European), 'not'
- inherited from *n̥- (Proto-Indo-European), 'not, un-'
- inherited from *ən- (Proto-Italic), 'un-'
- compound of trīcae (Latin), 'trifles, toys, trumpery'
- derived from *ter- (Proto-Indo-European), 'tender, weak'
- derived from *terkʷ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to turn, spin'
- prefix in- (Latin), 'un-, non-, not'
- inherited from intrīcāre (Latin), 'inflection of intrīcō:'
- borrowed from intrigare (Italian), 'to scheme, plot, intrigue'
- derived from intriguer (French), 'to puzzle; to make interested or curious'
Updated April 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris