knowledge(redirected from A priori and a posterior knowledge)
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These nouns refer to what is known, as through study or experience. Knowledge is the broadest: "Science is organized knowledge" (Herbert Spencer).
Information often implies a collection of facts and data: "A man's judgment cannot be better than the information on which he has based it" (Arthur Hays Sulzberger).
Learning usually refers to knowledge gained by schooling and study: "Learning ... must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence" (Abigail Adams).
Erudition implies profound, often specialized knowledge: "Some have criticized his poetry as elitist, unnecessarily impervious to readers who do not share his erudition" (Elizabeth Kastor).
Scholarship is the mastery of a particular area of learning reflected in a scholar's work: A good journal article shows ample evidence of the author's scholarship. Lore is usually applied to knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote about a particular subject: Many American folktales concern the lore of frontier life.
2. the writings and thoughts of the 18th-century French Encyclopedists, especially an emphasis on scientific rationalism. — encyclopedist, n.
2. a theory or belief relying heavily on fact. — factualist, n. — factualistic, adj.
2. the beliefs or claims of certain religious groups or sects that they possess special religious enlightenment. — Illuminati, illuminati, Illuminist, illuminist, n.
2. a devotion to intellectual activities.
3. an excessive emphasis on intellect and a resulting neglect of emotion. — intellectualistic, adj.
2. Metaphysics. the doctrine that knowledge rests upon axiomatic truths discerned intuitively.
3. Ethics. the doctrine that moral values and duties can be perceived directly. Also called intuitivism. — intuitionalist, intuitionist, n.
2. the state of being all-knowing. Also Obsolete, omniscious. — omniscient, adj.
2. the claim to such enlightenment. — pansophist, n. — pansophistical, adj.
2. a system of universal knowledge; pantology. — pansophic, adj.
2. (cap.) an advocate of Philonism. Also spelled Philonist.
2. a field of specialization within a science or area of knowledge, as otology within medicine. — specialist, n. — specialistic, adj.
- A body without knowledge is like a house without a foundation —Hebrew proverb
- The desire for knowledge, like the thirst of riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it —Laurence Sterne
- Follow knowledge, like a sinking star, beyond the utmost bound of human thought —Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- Gleaned bits of information like a mouse hoarding pellets of bran stolen from the feed manger —Rita Mae Brown
- (There are no limits to his knowledge, on small subjects as well as great;) he is like a book in breeches —Sydney Smith about Macaulay
- In knowledge, as in swimming, he who flounders and splashes on the surface, makes more noise, and attracts more attention than the pearl-diver who quietly dives in quest of treasures to the bottom —Washington Irving
- In science, as in life, learning and knowledge are distinct, and the study of things, and not of books is the source of the latter —Thomas H. Huxley
- It’s like swimming; once you learn it, you never forget it —Miguel de Cervantes
- Knowledgeable as a walking encyclopedia of universal knowledge —Louisa May Alcott
- Knowledge … is like a fire, which must first be kindled by some external agent, but which will afterwards propagate itself —Samuel Johnson, letter to William Drummond, August 23, 1766
- Knowledge … like a rough diamond … will never be worn or shine, if it is not polished —Lord Chesterfield
- Knowledge, like religion, must be “experienced” in order to be known —Edwin Percy Whipple
- The knowledge of man is like the waters, some descending from above, and some springing from beneath; the one informed by the light of nature, the other inspired by divine revelation —Francis Bacon
Paraphrased from Bacon’s “Knowledge of man is as the waters.”
- Knowledge, when wisdom is too weak to guide her, is like a headstrong horse that throws the rider —Francis Quarles
- The right to know is like the right to live. It is fundamental and unconditional in its assumption that knowledge, like life, is a desirable thing —George Bernard Shaw
- The struggle for knowledge has a pleasure in it like that of wrestling with a fine woman —Lord Halifax
The original simile used ‘hath’ instead of ‘has.’
- The understanding, like the eyes, while it makes us see and perceive all things, takes no notice of itself, and it requires art and pains to set it at a distance and make it its own subject —John Locke
The fifth word is a modernization of the original, ‘whilst.’
- We deal our knowledge like a pack of cards —George Garrett
- With informations we can go anywhere in the world, we are like turtles, our houses always on our backs —John Le Carré
In his novel A Perfect Spy, Le Carré expands the simile as follows: “You learn to paint, you can paint anywhere. A sculptor, a musician, a painter, they need no permits. Only their heads.”
burn one’s fingers To hurt one-self, physically or mentally, by meddling in other people’s affairs or by acting impetuously. The expression usually implies that one has learned from the painful experience, and will avoid such situations or involvements in the future. The phrase has been in figurative use since 1710, often in proverbial statements like the following:
The busybody burns his own fingers. (Samuel Palmer, Proverbs)
A similar current American slang expression is get burnt, which has the additional meaning of suffering financial loss.
by rote From memory; mechanically, automatically, unthinkingly, without understanding or feeling; usually as modifier of verbs such as learn, get, know, recite. Conjecture that rote comes from the Latin rota ‘wheel,’ and that by rote consequently relates to the repetitious turning round and round in the mind that accompanies memorizing, lacks solid etymological basis. George Gordon, Lord Byron, used the expression in English Bards and Scotch Reviewers (1809):
Take hackney’d jokes from Miller got by rote.
cut one’s eyeteeth To gain knowledge or understanding; to become sophisticated or experienced in the ways of the world; also to have one’s eyeteeth meaning ‘to be worldly-wise or aware.’ This expression, which dates from the early 1700s, derives from the fact that the eyeteeth are cut late, usually at about the age of twelve. The implication then is that a person who has already cut his eyeteeth has reached the age of discretion. A similar phrase with the same meaning is to cut one’s wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth are cut even later than eyeteeth, usually between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five.
know one’s beans To be generally knowledgeable and aware; to know a subject thoroughly; to be proficient, to have mastered a particular skill. Popular since the 19th century, this expression may be a contraction of the British know how many beans make five, an expression also used figuratively and said to derive from the practice of using beans to teach children how to count.
One has to know beans to be successful in the latest Washington novelty for entertainment at luncheons. (Chicago Herald, 1888)
In the U.S., the negative construction not to know beans is more frequently heard, and may even antedate the other two.
Whatever he knows of Euclid and Greek,
In Latin he don’t know beans. (Yale Literary Magazine, 1855)
Know one’s onions is a common U.S. slang variant, as are know one’s stuff and know one’s business.
know the ropes To completely understand the operational methods of one’s occupation or enterprise; to know the tricks of the trade. A sailor who understands the arrangement and functions of the numerous ropes on a ship is considered an invaluable crew member. Similarly, a person familiar with the ins and outs of his job or company establishes himself as a most valuable employee.
The circle was composed of men who thought they “knew the ropes” as well as he did. (John N. Maskelyne, Sharps and Flats, 1894)
under one’s belt As a part of one’s past experience, to one’s credit, successfully completed or accomplished.
His wife had 135,000 miles driving in the States under her belt … but was still failed. (The Manchester Guardian Weekly, August, 1954)
Originally under one’s belt ‘in one’s stomach’ referred to food which had been taken in, digested, and finally assimilated into the body. Similarly, one’s experiences are incorporated into one’s personality.
|Noun||1.||knowledge - the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning|
psychological feature - a feature of the mental life of a living organism
mind, psyche, nous, brain, head - that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason; "his mind wandered"; "I couldn't get his words out of my head"
place - an abstract mental location; "he has a special place in my thoughts"; "a place in my heart"; "a political system with no place for the less prominent groups"
episteme - the body of ideas that determine the knowledge that is intellectually certain at any particular time
ability, power - possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done; "danger heightened his powers of discrimination"
inability - lack of ability (especially mental ability) to do something
lexis - all of the words in a language; all word forms having meaning or grammatical function
practice - knowledge of how something is usually done; "it is not the local practice to wear shorts to dinner"
cognitive factor - something immaterial (as a circumstance or influence) that contributes to producing a result
equivalent - a person or thing equal to another in value or measure or force or effect or significance etc; "send two dollars or the equivalent in stamps"
cognitive operation, cognitive process, mental process, process, operation - (psychology) the performance of some composite cognitive activity; an operation that affects mental contents; "the process of thinking"; "the cognitive operation of remembering"
unconscious process, process - a mental process that you are not directly aware of; "the process of denial"
perception - knowledge gained by perceiving; "a man admired for the depth of his perception"
structure - the complex composition of knowledge as elements and their combinations; "his lectures have no structure"
cognitive content, mental object, content - the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned
information - knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction
history - all that is remembered of the past as preserved in writing; a body of knowledge; "the dawn of recorded history"; "from the beginning of history"
learning ignorance, illiteracy
consciousness misunderstanding, unawareness
"Knowledge is power" [Francis Bacon Meditationes Sacrae]
"Knowledge is power. Unfortunate dupes of this saying will keep on reading, ambitiously, till they have stunned their native initiative, and made their thoughts weak" [Clarence Day This Simian World]
"Knowledge is power, if you know it about the right person" [Ethel Watts Mumford]
"All I know is that I know nothing" [Socrates]
"That knowledge which stops at what it does not know, is the highest knowledge" [Chang Tzu The Music of Heaven and Earth]
"No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience" [John Locke Essay Concerning Human Understanding]
"Knowledge is not knowledge until someone else knows that one knows" [Lucilius fragment]
"He that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow" Bible: Ecclesiastes
"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it" [Dr. Johnson]
"Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth" Bible: I Corinthians
"It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen" [Oliver Wendell Holmes The Poet at the Breakfast-Table]
"If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has so much as to be out of danger?" [T.H. Huxley Collected Essays]
"Owl hasn't exactly got Brain, but he Knows Things" [A.A. Milne Winnie-the-Pooh]
"Knowledge in the end is based on acknowledgement" [Ludwig Wittgenstein On Certainty]
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing"
"An old poacher makes the best gamekeeper"
to deny all knowledge of sth → negar tener conocimiento de algo
to bring sth to sb's knowledge → poner a algn al tanto de algo
it has come to my knowledge that → me he enterado de que ...
it is common knowledge that → todo el mundo sabe que ..., es del dominio público que ...
to have no knowledge of sth → no tener conocimiento de algo
to (the best of) my knowledge → a mi entender, que yo sepa
not to my knowledge → que yo sepa, no
without my knowledge → sin saberlo yo
my knowledge of Spanish → mis conocimientos del español
he has some knowledge of computers → sabe algo de informática
to have a working knowledge of → dominar los principios esenciales de
I have a working knowledge of Portuguese → me defiendo en portugués
to have a thorough knowledge of history → conocer a fondo la historia
a detailed knowledge of sth → une connaissance détaillée de qch
He has a detailed knowledge of international law → Il possède une connaissance détaillée du droit international.
They lack sufficient knowledge of other industries → Il leur manque une connaissance suffisante des autres industries.
to have no knowledge of [event, situation] → ne pas avoir connaissance de
to have a working knowledge of French → se débrouiller en français
scientific knowledge → les connaissances scientifiques, le savoir scientifique
advances in scientific knowledge → les avancées des connaissances scientifiques
Taylor combined great knowledge with an irreverent attitude to history → Taylor alliait un grand savoir à certaine irrévérence face à l'histoire., Taylor alliait de grandes connaissances à une certaine irrévérence face à l'histoire.
to the best of my knowledge → autant que je sache
not to my knowledge → pas à ma connaissance
without my knowledge → à mon insu
safe in the knowledge that ... → sachant bien que ...
I arrived late, safe in the knowledge that no demonstration leaves on time → Je suis arrivé en retard, sachant bien qu'aucune manifestation ne part à l'heure.
it is common knowledge that ... → chacun sait que ..., Il est notoire que ...
it has come to my knowledge that ... → il a été porté à ma connaissance que ...
to have no knowledge of → ignorare, non sapere
not to my knowledge → non che io sappia
without my knowledge → a mia insaputa
to (the best of) my knowledge → per quanto io ne sappia
it is common knowledge that ... → è risaputo che...
it has come to my knowledge that ... → sono venuto a sapere che...