Wiktionary

intelligence

English Edit

 
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Etymology Edit

From Middle English intelligence, from Old French intelligence, from Latin intelligentia, which is from inter- (“between”) + legere (“choose, pick out, read”), or Proto-Italic *legō (“to care”). Doublet of intelligentsia.

Pronunciation Edit

  • IPA(key): /ɪnˈtɛl.ɪ.d͡ʒəns/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Hyphenation: in‧tel‧li‧gence

Noun Edit

intelligence (countable and uncountable, plural intelligences)

  1. (chiefly uncountable) Capacity of mind, especially to understand principles, truths, facts or meanings, acquire knowledge, and apply it to practice; the ability to comprehend and learn.
    • 1912 October, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Tarzan of the Apes”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as chapter 5, in Tarzan of the Apes, New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt Company, 1914 June, →OCLC:
      Not so, however, with Tarzan, the man-child. His life amidst the dangers of the jungle had taught him to meet emergencies with self-confidence, and his higher intelligence resulted in a quickness of mental action far beyond the powers of the apes.
    • 1936 Feb., F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Crack-Up", Esquire:
      ...the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.
    • 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:
      Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
  2. (chiefly uncountable) The quality of making use or having made use of such capacities: depth of understanding, mental quickness.
    • 2018, Dalai Lama, translated by Dhondup Tsering, Introduction to Buddhism, →ISBN, page 8:
      From a religious point of view, a bodhisattva with sharp faculties and great intelligence can cause a tremendous upheaval if he or she misuses that power under the influence of negative emotions, like attachment and hatred.
  3. (countable) An entity that has such capacities.
    • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, canto LXXXV:
      The great Intelligences fair / That range above our mortal state, / In circle round the blessed gate, / Received and gave him welcome there.
    • 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 102:
      The living intelligence, the Martian within the hood, was slain and splashed to the four winds of heaven, and the thing was now but a mere intricate device of metal whirling to destruction.
    • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 275:
      But there are latent powers within man alone that are not yet fully understood and [...] we cannot definitely state what is, and what is not, due to the interference or influence of discarnate intelligences.
    • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 228:
      He passes beyond the projections and thought forms of his own creation to the wholly other and independent world of the angelic intelligences.
  4. (chiefly uncountable) Information, often secret, about an enemy or about hostile activities.
    • 2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 40:01 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?‎[1], archived from the original on 3 November 2022:
      Their lack of good intelligence also meant that they vastly overestimated the size of their foes for far too long, hails of armor-piercing shells doing comparatively little damage compared to the high explosive that they should have been using.
  5. (countable) A political or military department, agency or unit designed to gather information, usually secret, about the enemy or about hostile activities.
  6. (dated) Acquaintance; intercourse; familiarity.

Synonyms Edit

Derived terms Edit

Translations Edit

French Edit

Etymology Edit

Borrowed from Latin intelligentia (“discernment, intelligence”).

Pronunciation Edit

  • IPA(key): /ɛ̃.tɛ.li.ʒɑ̃s/, /ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃s/
  • audio(file)

Noun Edit

intelligence f (plural intelligences)

  1. intelligence; cleverness
    C’est un homme d’une rare intelligence.
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    It’s a man with an uncommon intelligence.
  2. comprehension

Derived terms Edit

Further reading Edit

Italian Edit

Etymology Edit

Borrowed from English intelligence. Doublet of intelligenza and intellighenzia.

Pronunciation Edit

Noun Edit

intelligence f (invariable)

  1. a political or military department, agency or unit designed to gather information

References Edit

  1. ^ intelligence in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Middle English Edit

Alternative forms Edit

Etymology Edit

From Old French intelligence, from Latin intellegentia.

Pronunciation Edit

  • IPA(key): /inˈtɛlid͡ʒəns(ə)/

Noun Edit

intelligence (uncountable)

  1. comprehension

Descendants Edit

  • English: intelligence
  • Yola: tellgence, talligence

References Edit

Middle French Edit

Noun Edit

intelligence f (plural intelligences)

  1. intelligence
  2. comprehension
    • 1595, Michel de Montaigne, Essais, book II, chapter 10:
      Je souhaiterois avoir plus parfaicte comprehension des choses, mais je ne la veux pas achepter si cher qu’elle couste.
      I would like to have a more perfect knowledge of everything, but I don't want to buy it for how much it costs

Old French Edit

Noun Edit

intelligence f (oblique plural intelligences, nominative singular intelligence, nominative plural intelligences)

  1. comprehension
  2. meaning
  3. ability to comprehend

Descendants Edit

References Edit

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