[ad_1] noun
- the power or faculty of the mind by which one knows or understands, as distinguished from that by which one feels and that by which one wills; the understanding; the faculty of thinking and acquiring knowledge.
- capacity for thinking and acquiring knowledge, especially of a high or complex order; mental capacity.
- a particular mind or intelligence, especially of a high order.
- a person possessing a great capacity for thought and knowledge.
- minds collectively, as of a number of persons or the persons themselves.
noun
- the capacity for understanding, thinking, and reasoning, as distinct from feeling or wishing
- a mind or intelligence, esp a brilliant onehis intellect is wasted on that job
- informal a person possessing a brilliant mind; brain
- those possessing the greatest mental powerthe intellect of a nation
late 14c. (but little used before 16c.), from Old French intellecte “intellectual capacity” (13c.), and directly from Latin intellectus “discernment, a perception, understanding,” from noun use of past participle of intelligere “to understand, discern” (see intelligence).