knowledge

[nol-ij] /ˈnɒl ɪdʒ/
noun
1.
acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition:
knowledge of many things.
2.
familiarity or conversance, as with a particular subject or branch of learning:
A knowledge of accounting was necessary for the job.
3.
acquaintance or familiarity gained by sight, experience, or report:
a knowledge of human nature.
4.
the fact or state of knowing; the perception of fact or truth; clear and certain mental apprehension.
5.
awareness, as of a fact or circumstance:
He had knowledge of her good fortune.
6.
something that is or may be known; information:
He sought knowledge of her activities.
7.
the body of truths or facts accumulated in the course of time.
8.
the sum of what is known:
Knowledge of the true situation is limited.
9.
Archaic. sexual intercourse.
Compare carnal knowledge.
adjective
10.
creating, involving, using, or disseminating special knowledge or information:
A computer expert can always find a good job in the knowledge industry.
Idioms
11.
to one's knowledge, according to the information available to one:
To my knowledge he hasn't been here before.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English knouleche, equivalent to know(en) to know1 + -leche, perhaps akin to Old English -lāc suffix denoting action or practice, cognate with Old Norse (-)leikr; cf. wedlock
Related forms
knowledgeless, adjective
preknowledge, noun
superknowledge, noun
Synonyms
1. See information. 4. understanding, discernment, comprehension; erudition, scholarship.
Examples from the web for knowledge
  • Reading will enhance your knowledge and your understanding of the world, and will give you something to talk about at parties.
  • These students are using technology to learn the skills needed for a knowledge economy and an information society.
  • The pursuit of information has been a human preoccupation since knowledge was first recorded.
  • Factual knowledge: knowledge about discrete chunks of information.
  • The dangers arise from knowledge, from our inexorably growing understanding of the basic processes of life.
  • Fluid intelligence is thought to be strongly influenced by genetics and unaffected by knowledge and education.
  • In ancient times, memorization was a key skill vital to preserving knowledge.
  • Test your sports knowledge from the headlines of the week.
  • In this case the outcome was not a commodity price, say, but knowledge.
  • Programs in health care and education combine indigenous and outside knowledge.
British Dictionary definitions for knowledge

knowledge

/ˈnɒlɪdʒ/
noun
1.
the facts, feelings or experiences known by a person or group of people
2.
the state of knowing
3.
awareness, consciousness, or familiarity gained by experience or learning
4.
erudition or informed learning
5.
specific information about a subject
6.
sexual intercourse (obsolete except in the legal phrase carnal knowledge)
7.
come to one's knowledge, to become known to one
8.
to my knowledge
  1. as I understand it
  2. as I know
9.
(Irish) grow out of one's knowledge, to behave in a presumptuous or conceited manner
Word Origin and History for knowledge
n.

early 12c., cnawlece "acknowledgment of a superior, honor, worship;" for first element see know. Second element obscure, perhaps from Scandinavian and cognate with the -lock "action, process," found in wedlock. Meaning "capacity for knowing, understanding; familiarity; fact of knowing" is late 14c. Sense of "an organized body of facts or teachings" is from c.1400, as is that of "sexual intercourse." Also a verb in Middle English, knoulechen "acknowledge" (c.1200), later "find out about; recognize," and "to have sexual intercourse with" (c.1300).

knowledge in Technology

artificial intelligence, information science
The objects, concepts and relationships that are assumed to exist in some area of interest. A collection of knowledge, represented using some knowledge representation language is known as a knowledge base and a program for extending and/or querying a knowledge base is a knowledge-based system.
Knowledge differs from data or information in that new knowledge may be created from existing knowledge using logical inference. If information is data plus meaning then knowledge is information plus processing.
A common form of knowledge, e.g. in a Prolog program, is a collection of facts and rules about some subject.
For example, a knowledge base about a family might contain the facts that John is David's son and Tom is John's son and the rule that the son of someone's son is their grandson. From this knowledge it could infer the new fact that Tom is David's grandson.
See also Knowledge Level.
(1994-10-19)

Idioms and Phrases with knowledge

knowledge

see: