Innocents

[in-uh-suh nt] /ˈɪn ə sənt/

adjective
1.
free from moral wrong; without sin; pure:
innocent children.
2.
free from legal or specific wrong; guiltless:
innocent of the crime.
3.
not involving evil intent or motive:
an innocent misrepresentation.
4.
not causing physical or moral injury; harmless:
innocent fun.
5.
devoid (usually followed by of):
a law innocent of merit.
6.
having or showing the simplicity or naiveté of an unworldly person; guileless; ingenuous.
7.
uninformed or unaware; ignorant.
noun
8.
an innocent person.
9.
a young child.
10.
a guileless person.
11.
a simpleton or idiot.
12.
Usually, innocents. (used with a singular verb) (def 1).
/ˈɪnəsənt/
adjective
1.
not corrupted or tainted with evil or unpleasant emotion; sinless; pure
2.
not guilty of a particular crime; blameless
3.
(postpositive) foll by of. free (of); lacking: innocent of all knowledge of history
4.

5.
credulous, naive, or artless
6.
simple-minded; slow-witted
noun
7.
an innocent person, esp a young child or an ingenuous adult
8.
a simple-minded person; simpleton
adj.

mid-14c., “doing no evil, free from sin or guilt,” from Old French inocent “harmless; not guilty; pure” (11c.), from Latin innocentem (nominative innocens) “not guilty, harmless, blameless,” from in- “not” (see in- (1)) + nocentem (nominative nocens), present participle of nocere “to harm” (see noxious). Meaning “free from guilt of a specific crime or charge” is from late 14c. The earliest use was as a noun, “person who is innocent of sin or evil” (c.1200). The Holy Innocents (early 14c.) were the young children slain by Herod sfter the birth of Jesus (Matt. ii:16).

innocent in·no·cent (ĭn’ə-sənt)
adj.
Not apparently harmful; benign.