English

Alternative forms

• (obsolete) cnaulage, cnoulech, knauleche, knaulege, knaulach, knaulage, knawlache, knawlage, kneuelich, kneuleche, kneuliche, knoleche, knolege, knoleige, knolych, knouelache, knouelech, knouelich, knoulecche, knoulegge, knouliche, knowlache, knowlage, knowleche, knowlege, knowlesche, knowliche, knowlych, knowlech

Etymology

Middle English knowleche (“knowledge”), of uncertain formation. The first element is ultimately identical with know, but the second is obscure (neither Old Norse -leikr nor Old English -lāċ would have given -leche as found in the earliest Middle English citations). Compare Middle English knowlechen (“to acknowledge”), Old English cnāwelǣċing, cnāwlǣċ (“acknowledgment”), and know.

• The noun originally provided a counterpart to the now-obsolete verb to knowledge (see below), but was very early adapted to be the noun equivalent of know.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈnɒl.ɪdʒ/, SAMPA: /"nQl.IdZ/
• (US) IPA: /ˈnalɨdʒ/
• Rhymes: -alɪdʒ

• Audio (US)
  (file)

Noun

knowledge (countable and uncountable; plural knowledges)

1. (obsolete) Acknowledgement. [14th-16th c.]
2. The fact of knowing about something; general understanding or familiarity with a subject, place, situation etc. [from 14th c.]

   His knowledge of Iceland was limited to what he'd seen on the Travel Channel.

3. Awareness of a particular fact or situation; a state of having been informed or made aware of something. [from 14th c.]
   • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice:

     He had always intended to visit him, though to the last always assuring his wife that he should not go; and till the evening after the visit was paid she had no knowledge of it.

4. Intellectual understanding; the state of appreciating truth or information. [from 14th c.]

   Knowledge consists in recognizing the difference between good and bad decisions.

5. Familiarity or understanding of a perticular skill, branch of learning etc. [from 14th c.]

   Does your friend have any knowledge of hieroglyphics, perchance?

6. (archaic or law) Sexual intimacy or intercourse (now usually in phrase carnal knowledge). [from 15th c.]
   • 1573, George Gascoigne, "The Adventures of Master F.J.", An Anthology of Elizabethan Prose Fiction:

     Every time that he had knowledge of her he would leave, either in the bed, or in her cushion-cloth, or by her looking-glass, or in some place where she must needs find it, a piece of money [...].

7. (obsolete) Information or intelligence about something; notice. [15th-18th c.]
   • 1580, Edward Hayes, "Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Voyage to Newfoundland", Voyages and Travels Ancient and Modern, ed. Charles W Eliot, Cosimo 2005, p. 280:

     Item, if any ship be in danger [...], every man to bear towards her, answering her with one light for a short time, and so to put it out again; thereby to give knowledge that they have seen her token.

8. The total of what is known; all information and products of learning. [from 16th c.]

   His library contained the accumulated knowledge of the Greeks and Romans.

9. (obsolete) Notice, awareness. [17th c.]
   • 1611, The Bible, Authorized Version, Ruth II.10:

     Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

Usage notes

• Adjectives often used with “knowledge”: extensive, deep, superficial, theoretical, practical, useful, working, encyclopedic, public, private, scientific, tacit, explicit, general, specialized, special, broad, declarative, procedural, innate, etc.

Derived terms

Related terms

• knowing

Synonyms

• awareness
• cognizance
• ken
• knowingness
• learning

Antonyms

• ignorance

Verb

to knowledge (third-person singular simple present knowledges, present participle knowledging, simple past and past participle knowledged)

1. (obsolete) To confess as true; to acknowledge. [13th-17th c.]
   • 1526, Bible, tr. William Tyndale, Matthew 3:

     Then went oute to hym Jerusalem, and all Jury, and all the region rounde aboute Jordan, and were baptised of hym in Jordan, knoledging their synnes.

See also

• data
• erudition
• information
• know-how
• perception
• wisdom

External links

• knowledge in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• knowledge in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

What Links Here:

Most Popular Pages:

Related 'Knowledge' Searches: