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idea
[ ahy-dee-uh, ahy-deeuh ]
/ aɪˈdi ə, aɪˈdiə /
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noun
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Origin of idea
First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin from Greek idéā “form, pattern,” equivalent to ide- (stem of ideîn “to see”) + -ā feminine noun ending; replacing late Middle English idee from Middle French from Late Latin, as above; akin to wit1
historical usage of idea
English idea comes from one of Seneca’s Epistles (58), written about a.d. 64 during his retirement from Emperor Nero’s court, in which the Roman philosopher uses idea in the sense of “Platonic idea, eternal archetype.” Seneca wrote idea in Latin letters; the Roman orator Cicero, about a hundred years earlier, wrote the same word, with the same meaning, but in Greek letters. Plato used the perfectly ordinary Greek noun idéa “form, shape” as a term in logic meaning “classification, principle of classification,” and in his own metaphysics to mean “ideal form, prototype.” In fact, the earliest uses of idea in English show semantic overlap with ideal. The familiar and current meanings having to do with a mental conception, notion, or image first appeared in the late 16th century.
The Greek noun idéa comes from the very common, very complicated Proto-Indo-European root weid-, woid-, wid- “to see.” In Greek the variant woid- forms the verb oîda ( woîda in some dialects), meaning “I know.” (In form, oîda is a perfect tense used to show a present state: “I have seen, I know.”)
Woidos, a noun derived from woid-, becomes veda- “knowledge” in Sanskrit ( Rig-Veda means “knowledge of the hymns, sacred stanzas”). The variant wid- forms the Greek noun idéa, and the infinitive ideîn (also wideîn ), the Latin infinitive vidēre, and the Slavic (Czech) vidět, all meaning “to see.”
Weid-, woid-, wid- become wīt-, wait-, wit- in Germanic. The suffixed form wīt-to- forms the adjective wīsaz, Old English wīs (English wise ), and Old English wīsdōm “learning” (English wisdom ).
The Greek noun idéa comes from the very common, very complicated Proto-Indo-European root weid-, woid-, wid- “to see.” In Greek the variant woid- forms the verb oîda ( woîda in some dialects), meaning “I know.” (In form, oîda is a perfect tense used to show a present state: “I have seen, I know.”)
Woidos, a noun derived from woid-, becomes veda- “knowledge” in Sanskrit ( Rig-Veda means “knowledge of the hymns, sacred stanzas”). The variant wid- forms the Greek noun idéa, and the infinitive ideîn (also wideîn ), the Latin infinitive vidēre, and the Slavic (Czech) vidět, all meaning “to see.”
Weid-, woid-, wid- become wīt-, wait-, wit- in Germanic. The suffixed form wīt-to- forms the adjective wīsaz, Old English wīs (English wise ), and Old English wīsdōm “learning” (English wisdom ).
OTHER WORDS FROM idea
i·de·a·less, adjectivepre·i·de·a, nounsub·i·de·a, nounWords nearby idea
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
WHEN TO USE
What are other ways to say idea?
An idea is any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity. How is idea different from thought, conception, and notion? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.
How to use idea in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for idea (1 of 2)
idea
/ (aɪˈdɪə) /
noun
Derived forms of idea
idealess, adjectiveWord Origin for idea
C16: via Late Latin from Greek: model, pattern, notion, from idein to see
usage for idea
It is usually considered correct to say that someone has the idea of doing something, rather than the idea to do it: he had the idea of taking (not the idea to take) a short holiday
British Dictionary definitions for idea (2 of 2)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with idea
idea
see bright idea; put ideas in someone's head; what's the idea.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.