nous

[ noos, nous ]

/ nus, naʊs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR nous ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Greek Philosophy. mind or intellect.

Neoplatonism. the first and purest emanation of the One, regarded as the self-contemplating order of the universe.

RELATED WORDS

commonsense, faculties, senses, wits

Nearby words

Origin of nous

1670–80; < Greek noûs, contracted variant of nóos mind

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nous

"Nous verrons," answered I, swinging it on my forefinger, in order to demonstrate its lightness.
Frank Fairlegh|Frank E. Smedley
Nous remarquons Cliff-Palace de grands progrs dans l'art de la construction.
Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park: Cliff Palace|Jesse Walter Fewkes
Had our speeches, as usual with nous autres, served with the dessert instead of as entres.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 108, June 29, 1895|Various
Nous y allons cette nuit et il faut s'exercer un peu d'avance pour cela.
Three John Silence Stories|Algernon Blackwood

Tourville wrote to Hocquincourt: nous avons singlét (sailed), for cinglé.
Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo

British Dictionary definitions for nous

nous

/ (naʊs) /

noun

metaphysics mind or reason, esp when regarded as the principle governing all things

British slang common sense; intelligence

Word Origin for nous

C17: from Greek, literally: mind

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 nous

nous

slang for "intelligence, common sense," 1706, from Greek nous, Attic form of noos "mind, intellect," which was taken in English in philosophy 1670s.