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intelligence

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

intelligence (countable and uncountable, plural intelligences)

  1. (chiefly uncountable) The capacity of mind, especially to understand principles, truths, facts or meanings, acquire knowledge, and apply it to practice; the ability to comprehend and learn; the ability to process sentient experience to generate true beliefs with a justified degree of confidence.
    Synonyms: wit, intellect, brightness; see also Thesaurus:intelligence
    Antonym: unintelligence
    • 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[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, June 1914, →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.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:sentient
    • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto LXXXIII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 118:
      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: 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: John Long Ltd, 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?‎, 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.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

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French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin intelligentia (“discernment, intelligence”).

Pronunciation

Noun

intelligence f (plural intelligences)

  1. intelligence; cleverness
    C'est un homme d'une rare intelligence.
    He is a man of exceptional intelligence.
    intelligence artificielle ― artificial intelligence
  2. comprehension, understanding
    l'intelligence des données ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
  3. accord, agreement, harmony
    Near-synonym: entente
    vivre en bonne intelligence ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    être d'intelligence avec quelqu'un ― to be in cahoots with someone

Further reading

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Italian

Middle English

Middle French

Old French

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