[Origin: bef. 900; ME techen, OE tǣcan; akin to token]
—Synonyms 1–3. coach. 2, 3. inform, enlighten, discipline, drill, school, indoctrinate. Teach,instruct,tutor,train,educate share the meaning of imparting information, understanding, or skill. Teach is the broadest and most general of these terms and can refer to almost any practice that causes others to develop skill or knowledge: to teach children to write; to teach marksmanship to soldiers; to teach tricks to a dog. Instruct almost always implies a systematic, structured method of teaching: to instruct paramedics in techniques of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Tutor refers to the giving of usually private instruction or coaching in a particular subject or skill: to tutor a child in (a foreign language, algebra, history, or the like). Train lays stress on the development of desired behaviors through practice, discipline, or the use of rewards or punishments: to train a child to be polite; to train recruits in military skills; to train a dog to heel. Educate, with a root sense of “to lead forth from,” refers to the imparting of a specific body of knowledge, esp. one that equips a person to practice a profession: to educate a person for a high-school diploma; to educate someone for the law.
To impart knowledge or skill to: teaches children.
To provide knowledge of; instruct in: teaches French.
To condition to a certain action or frame of mind: teaching youngsters to be self-reliant.
To cause to learn by example or experience: an accident that taught me a valuable lesson.
To advocate or preach: teaches racial and religious tolerance.
To carry on instruction on a regular basis in: taught high school for many years.
v.
intr.
To give instruction, especially as an occupation.
[Middle English techen, from Old English tǣcan; see deik- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These verbs mean to impart knowledge or skill. Teach is the most widely applicable: taught the child to draw; taught literature at the college. Instruct usually suggests methodical teaching: instructed the undergraduates in music theory. Educate often implies formal instruction but especially stresses the development of innate capacities: "We are educated by others ... and this cultivation, mingling with our innate disposition, is the soil in which our desires, passions, and motives grow" (Mary Shelley).
Train suggests concentration on particular skills intended to fit a person for a desired role: trained the vocational students to be computer technicians. School often implies an arduous learning process: schooled the youngster to play the viola. Discipline usually refers to the teaching of control, especially self-control: disciplined myself to exercise every day. Drill implies rigorous instruction or training, often by repetition of a routine: drilled the students by having them recite the multiplication tables.
the profession of a teacher; "he prepared for teaching while still in college"; "pedagogy is recognized as an important profession"
2.
a doctrine that is taught; "the teachings of religion"; "he believed all the Christian precepts"
3.
the activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill; "he received no formal education"; "our instruction was carefully programmed"; "good classroom teaching is seldom rewarded" [syn: education]
Ed`u*ca"tion\ (?; 135), n. [L. educatio; cf. F. ['e]ducation.] The act or process of educating; the result of educating, as determined by the knowledge skill, or discipline of character, acquired; also, the act or process of training by a prescribed or customary course of study or discipline; as, an education for the bar or the pulpit; he has finished his education. To prepare us for complete living is the function which education has to discharge. --H. Spenser. Syn: Education, Instruction, Teaching, Training, Breeding. Usage: Education, properly a drawing forth, implies not so much the communication of knowledge as the discipline of the intellect, the establishment of the principles, and the regulation of the heart. Instruction is that part of education which furnishes the mind with knowledge. Teaching is the same, being simply more familiar. It is also applied to practice; as, teaching to speak a language; teaching a dog to do tricks. Training is a department of education in which the chief element is exercise or practice for the purpose of imparting facility in any physical or mental operation. Breeding commonly relates to the manners and outward conduct.
Teach\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Taught; p. pr. & vb. n. Teaching.] [OE. techen, imp. taughte, tahte, AS. t?cean, imp. t?hte, to show, teach, akin to t[=a]cn token. See Token.]1. To impart the knowledge of; to give intelligence concerning; to impart, as knowledge before unknown, or rules for practice; to inculcate as true or important; to exhibit impressively; as, to teach arithmetic, dancing, music, or the like; to teach morals. If some men teach wicked things, it must be that others should practice them. --South. 2. To direct, as an instructor; to manage, as a preceptor; to guide the studies of; to instruct; to inform; to conduct through a course of studies; as, to teach a child or a class. "He taught his disciples." --Mark ix. 31. The village master taught his little school. --Goldsmith. 3. To accustom; to guide; to show; to admonish. I shall myself to herbs teach you. --Chaucer. They have taught their tongue to speak lies. --Jer. ix. 5. Note: This verb is often used with two objects, one of the person, the other of the thing; as, he taught me Latin grammar. In the passive construction, either of these objects may be retained in the objective case, while the other becomes the subject; as, I was taught Latin grammar by him; Latin grammar was taught me by him. Syn: To instruct; inform; inculcate; tell; guide; counsel; admonish. See the Note under Learn.
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