n.
Pronunciation: ' nä-lij
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English knowlege, from knowlechen to acknowledge, irregular from knowen
Date: 14th century
1 obsolete : COGNIZANCE
2 a (1) : the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association (2) : acquaintance with or understanding of a science, art, or technique b (1) : the fact or condition of being aware of something (2) : the range of one's information or understanding <answered to the best of my knowledge > c : the circumstance or condition of apprehending truth or fact through reasoning : COGNITION d : the fact or condition of having information or of being learned <a person of unusual knowledge >
3 archaic : SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
4 a : the sum of what is known : the body of truth, information, and principles acquired by humankind b archaic : a branch of learning
synonyms KNOWLEDGE , LEARNING , ERUDITION , SCHOLARSHIP mean what is or can be known by an individual or by humankind. KNOWLEDGE applies to facts or ideas acquired by study, investigation, observation, or experience <rich in the knowledge of human nature>. LEARNING applies to knowledge acquired especially through formal, often advanced, schooling <a book that demonstrates vast learning >. ERUDITION strongly implies the acquiring of profound, recondite, or bookish learning <an erudition unusual even in a scholar>. SCHOLARSHIP implies the possession of learning characteristic of the advanced scholar in a specialized field of study or investigation <a work of first-rate literary scholarship >.