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Wisdom

 [wiz-duhm]   Example Sentences Origin

wis·dom

   [wiz-duhm]
noun
1.
the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight.
2.
scholarly knowledge or learning: the wisdom of the schools.
3.
wise sayings or teachings; precepts.
4.
a wise act or saying.
5.
(initial capital letter) Douay Bible. Wisdom of Solomon.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English, Old English wīsdōm; cognate with Old Norse vīsdōmr, German Weistum. See wise1, -dom

Related forms
wis·dom·less, adjective

Synonyms
1. sense, understanding. 2. sapience, erudition, enlightenment. See information.

Antonyms
1. stupidity. 2. ignorance.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Wisdom is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Example Sentences
  • There is in wildness a natural wisdom that shapes all earth's experiments with life.
  • Conventional wisdom says the universe is infinite.
  • Our present intellectual superiority is no guarantee of great wisdom or survival power in our genes.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
wisdom (ˈwɪzdəm)
 
—n
1.  the ability or result of an ability to think and act utilizing knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight
2.  accumulated knowledge, erudition, or enlightenment
3.  archaic a wise saying or wise sayings or teachings
4.  obsolete soundness of mind
 
Related: sagacious
 
[Old English wīsdōm; see wise1, -dom]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

wisdom
O.E. wisdom, from wis (see wise (adj.)) + -dom. A common Gmc. compound (cf. O.S., O.Fris. wisdom, O.N. visdomr, O.H.G. wistuom "wisdom," Ger. Weistum "judicial sentence serving as a precedent"). Wisdom teeth so called from 1848 (earlier teeth of wisdom,
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1668), a loan-translation of L. dentes sapientiæ, itself a loan-transl. of Gk. sophronisteres (used by Hippocrates, from sophron "prudent, self-controlled"), so called because they usually appear ages 17-25, when a person reaches adulthood.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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