ignorance English · revision 10378

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=fro ignorance|origins=la ignorantia}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɪɡ.nə.ɹəns/, /ˈɪɡ.nɚ.əns/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English ignoraunce, [[bor|fro|ignorance]], from Latin ignōrantia, want of knowledge,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from ignōrāns, the present participle of ignōrāre, not to know, to disregard (see [[ignorant]], [[ignore]]).^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Lack of knowledge or wisdom: about 1200 in Etymonline, before 1225 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ An act or sin caused by lack of knowledge is from about 1425,^(OED 1989) and an instance of ignorance from 1749.^(OED 1989) ''The days of ignorance'' translates Arabic jāhiliyya, the time before Islam (1788).^(OED 1989) The proverb ''where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise'' is from Gray's ''Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College'' (1742).^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) Ignoration (1832) has been used for the act of ignoring.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – lack of knowledge.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1425 – an act of ignorance.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1742 – ignorance is bliss.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1788 – the days of ignorance.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The condition of being uneducated, unaware or uninformed; lack of [[knowledge]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ignorant]]

+ * [[tools of ignorance]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ignore]]

+ * [[ignoramus]]

+ * [[know]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}