ˈwizdəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wīsdōm, from wīs wise + -dōm -dom
1. usually capitalized : the effectual mediating principle or personification of God's will in the creation of the world : logos
2.
a.
(1) : accumulated information : philosophic or scientific learning : knowledge
all the wisdom of the ages … available at negligible cost to all of us within the covers of books — Bennett Cerf
(2) : accumulated lore or instinctive adaptation
a heritage of animal wisdom built up through many generations of … fighting for existence — J.T.McNish
b. : the intelligent application of learning : ability to discern inner qualities and essential relationships : insight , sagacity
a long book, illuminated not only with learning but with wisdom — Gerald Bullett
wisdom grows out of the temper and heart of a man as well as out of his intellect — James Bryce
— compare virtue
c. : good sense : judgment , prudence
faced with a vote of no confidence … had the wisdom to resign — B.K.Sandwell
d. obsolete : sanity
pray heaven his wisdom be not tainted — Shakespeare
3.
a. archaic : an embodiment of wisdom : aphorism
b. : a wise attitude or course of action
the English aristocracy showed a statesmanlike readiness to admit newcomers … a wisdom which marked them off from the pedigree-ridden and politically frivolous aristocracies of Europe — D.W.Brogan
c. often capitalized , archaic : a person of superior intellectual attainments
many of the best wisdoms of our nation — Gervase Markham
— often used as a title or mode of address
can your wisdom possibly entertain a wish to converse with me — Sir Walter Scott
4. : the teachings of the ancient wise men (as of Babylon, Egypt, or Palestine) relating to the art of living and sometimes to philosophical problems concerning the universe, man, or God and forming a class of literature represented in the Hebrew books of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus, and the Wisdom of Solomon
Synonyms: see sense