ignorance

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɪɡ.nə.ɹəns/, /ˈɪɡ.nɚ.əns/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English ignoraunce, borrowed from Old French ignorance, from Latin ignōrantia, want of knowledge,^[2][3][4] from ignōrāns, the present participle of ignōrāre, not to know, to disregard (see ignorant, ignore).^[3][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lack of knowledge or wisdom: about 1200 in Etymonline, before 1225 in the OED.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

An act or sin caused by lack of knowledge is from about 1425,^[7] and an instance of ignorance from 1749.^[7] The days of ignorance translates Arabic jāhiliyya, the time before Islam (1788).^[7] The proverb where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise is from Gray's Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College (1742).^[2][6] Ignoration (1832) has been used for the act of ignoring.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – lack of knowledge.^[2]
• c. 1425 – an act of ignorance.^[7]
• 1742 – ignorance is bliss.^[2]
• 1788 – the days of ignorance.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The condition of being uneducated, unaware or uninformed; lack of knowledge.

Word family

• ignorant
• tools of ignorance

Related words

• ignore
• ignoramus
• know

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press