intellect
/ˈɪn.tə.lekt/
noun
Origin
Latin
intellectus — understanding, discernment
Overview
Meaning Now
- The faculty of reasoning and understanding objectively, as opposed to feeling or intuition.
- A person possessing a highly developed capacity for logical or abstract thought.
Literal older meaning
that which reads within
Language path
Latin → Old French → English
Earliest form
intellect
Earliest period
14th century
Journey
The term reflects the scholastic tradition of the Middle Ages, where 'intellectus' was distinguished from 'ratio' (reasoning). Intellect was often considered the higher faculty of intuitive apprehension of truth, while ratio represented the discursive process of logic.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*inter-
“between”
- Latin
intellegere
“to understand, discern”
From inter 'between' + legere 'to gather, pick out'
- Latin
intellectus
“understanding, power of perceiving”
- Middle English
intellect
“understanding, the mind”
Adopted from Old French intellect/intellectus
Connections
Word parts
inter-
prefix
between
leg-
root
to gather, choose
-tus
suffix
abstract noun marker
Related across languages
French
intellect
Italian
intelletto
intellect
Explore next
Related to intellect
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.