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nescience

[nesh-uh ns, nesh-ee-uh ns, nes-ee-]
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noun
  1. lack of knowledge; ignorance.
  2. agnosticism.
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Origin of nescience

1605–15; < Late Latin nescientia ignorance, equivalent to ne- not + scientia knowledge; see science
Related formsnes·cient, adjectivenon·nes·cience, nounnon·nes·cient, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

benighteddensegreenilliterateimbecilicinexperiencedinnocentinsensiblemindlessmoronicnaiveobliviousobtuseshallowthickunconsciousuncultivateduncultureduneducatedunenlightened
British Dictionary definitions for nescient

nescience

noun
  1. a formal or literary word for ignorance
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Derived Formsnescient, adjective

Word Origin

C17: from Late Latin nescientia, from Latin nescīre to be ignorant of, from ne not + scīre to know; compare science
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

Word Origin and History for nescient

adj.

1620s, from Latin nescientem (nominative nesciens) "ignorant, unaware," present participle of nescire "not to know, to be ignorant," from ne "not" + scire "to know" (see science).

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nescience

n.

"ignorance," 1610s, from Late Latin nescientia, from nesciens (see nescient).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper