innocentes

Innocentes is the plural form of the Latin adjective innocens, meaning harmless or faultless. In Christian usage, the term most commonly refers to the Holy Innocents, the infant boys and girls killed by King Herod in an attempt to eliminate the newborn Jesus, as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew. The Feast of the Holy Innocents, observed on December 28 in Western Christianity, commemorates this event and is celebrated with varying customs across Christian traditions.

From Latin into the Romance languages, variants such as inocentes and innocentes function as adjectives or nouns meaning innocent or naive. The term appears in religious contexts, liturgy, and religious art, and it also appears as a title or motif in literature, film, and music.

In modern media, forms such as Inocentes or Innocentes are used as titles for works in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking contexts. The specific items vary by country and era, but the term often conveys themes related to innocence, moral judgment, or social critique.