innuendo

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An indirect remark that hints at something, often something rude or unkind.

   His speech was full of innuendo about the mayor's private life.

2. 2
   noun

   A remark that hints at something sexual without saying it directly.

   The comedy was full of cheap jokes and sexual innuendo.

Simplified etymology

Innuendo comes from a Latin word meaning “by nodding at” or “by pointing to,” formed from in, “towards,” and nuere, “to nod.” Early English legal documents used it to introduce an explanation, with the sense “that is to say” or “to wit.” By the late 17th century, an innuendo could mean either an explanation or an oblique remark or hint.

From the Latin innuendō (“by nodding”), ablative singular form of innuendum (“a nodding”), gerund of innuō (“to give a nod”).

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary