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.

noun

1. metaphysics mind or reason, esp when regarded as the principle governing all things
2. British slang common sense; intelligence

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