Knowledge \Knowl"edge\, n. [OE. knowlage, knowlege, knowleche,
   knawleche. The last part is the Icel. suffix -leikr, forming
   abstract nouns, orig. the same as Icel. leikr game, play,
   sport, akin to AS. l[=a]c, Goth. laiks dance. See Know, and
   cf. Lake, v. i., Lark a frolic.]
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   1. The act or state of knowing; clear perception of fact,
      truth, or duty; certain apprehension; familiar cognizance;
      cognition.
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            Knowledge, which is the highest degree of the
            speculative faculties, consists in the perception of
            the truth of affirmative or negative propositions.
                                                  --Locke.
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   2. That which is or may be known; the object of an act of
      knowing; a cognition; -- chiefly used in the plural.
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            There is a great difference in the delivery of the
            mathematics, which are the most abstracted of
            knowledges.                           --Bacon.
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            Knowledges is a term in frequent use by Bacon, and,
            though now obsolete, should be revived, as without
            it we are compelled to borrow "cognitions" to
            express its import.                   --Sir W.
                                                  Hamilton.
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            To use a word of Bacon's, now unfortunately
            obsolete, we must determine the relative value of
            knowledges.                           --H. Spencer.
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   3. That which is gained and preserved by knowing;
      instruction; acquaintance; enlightenment; learning;
      scholarship; erudition.
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            Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. --1 Cor.
                                                  viii. 1.
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            Ignorance is the curse of God;
            Knowledge, the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.
                                                  --Shak.
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   4. That familiarity which is gained by actual experience;
      practical skill; as, a knowledge of life.
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            Shipmen that had knowledge of the sea. --1 Kings ix.
                                                  27.
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   5. Scope of information; cognizance; notice; as, it has not
      come to my knowledge.
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            Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou
            shouldst take knowledge of me?        --Ruth ii. 10.
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   6. Sexual intercourse; -- usually preceded by carnal; same as
      carnal knowledge.

   Syn: See Wisdom.
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	Knowledge \Knowl"edge\, v. t.
   To acknowledge. [Obs.] "Sinners which knowledge their sins."
   --Tyndale.
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	knowledge
    n 1: the psychological result of perception and learning and
         reasoning [syn: cognition, knowledge, noesis]

	

	112 Moby Thesaurus words for "knowledge":
   IQ, account, acquaintance, adeptness, advice, announcement,
   appreciation, apprehension, awareness, blue book, briefing,
   broadening the mind, bulletin, caliber, capacity, cognition,
   communication, communique, comprehension, conception,
   consciousness, data, datum, deductive power, directory,
   discernment, dispatch, education, enlightenment, erudition,
   esemplastic power, evidence, experience, expertise, facts,
   factual information, familiarity, familiarization, gen,
   general information, grasp, guidebook, handout, hard information,
   ideation, incidental information, info, information, insight,
   instruction, integrative power, intellect,
   intellectual acquirement, intellectual grasp, intellectual power,
   intellectualism, intellectuality, intelligence,
   intelligence quotient, knowing, learning, light, lore,
   mastery of skills, memorization, mental age, mental capacity,
   mental cultivation, mental culture, mental grasp, mental ratio,
   mentality, mention, message, mother wit, native wit, news, notice,
   notification, power of mind, presentation, proficiency,
   promotional material, proof, publication, publicity, rationality,
   reasoning power, release, report, sanity, scholarship, schooling,
   science, scope of mind, self-instruction, sense, sidelight,
   statement, storing the mind, the dope, the goods, the know,
   the scoop, thinking power, transmission, understanding, white book,
   white paper, wisdom, wit, word

	

	knowledge

    The objects,
   concepts and relationships that are assumed to exist in some
   area of interest.  A collection of knowledge, represented
   using some knowledge representation language is known as a
   knowledge base and a program for extending and/or querying a
   knowledge base is a knowledge-based system.

   Knowledge differs from data or information in that new
   knowledge may be created from existing knowledge using logical
   inference.  If information is data plus meaning then
   knowledge is information plus processing.

   A common form of knowledge, e.g. in a Prolog program, is a
   collection of facts and rules about some subject.

   For example, a knowledge base about a family might contain
   the facts that John is David's son and Tom is John's son and
   the rule that the son of someone's son is their grandson.
   From this knowledge it could infer the new fact that Tom is
   David's grandson.

   See also Knowledge Level.

   (1994-10-19)