late 16th cent. (as the endorsement made by a grand jury on an indictment considered backed by insufficient evidence to bring before a petty jury)： Latin, literally 'we do not know' （in legal use 'we take no notice of it'）, from ignorare （see IGNORE）. The modern sense may derive from the name of a character in George Ruggle's Ignoramus (1615), a satirical comedy exposing lawyers' ignorance.