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nous

 - 2 dictionary results

nous

  [noos, nous]
–noun
1. Greek Philosophy. mind or intellect.
2. Neoplatonism. the first and purest emanation of the One, regarded as the self-contemplating order of the universe.
Use nous in a Sentence
Origin:
1670–80; < Gk noûs, contracted var. of nóos mind
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To nous
nous   (nōōs, nous)   
n.  

  1. Philosophy

    1. Reason and knowledge as opposed to sense perception.

    2. The rational part of the individual human soul.

    3. The principle of the cosmic mind or soul responsible for the rational order of the cosmos.

    4. In Stoicism, the equivalent of Logos.

    5. In Neo-Platonism, the image of the absolute good, containing the cosmos of intelligible beings.

  2. Chiefly British Good sense; shrewdness: "Hillela had the nous to take up with the General when he was on the up-and-up again" (Nadine Gordimer).


[Greek.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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