ignorance
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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
- The condition of being uneducated, unaware or uninformed; lack of knowledge.
Word family
- ignorant
- tools of ignorance
Related words
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press