Information

How to spell information

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce information

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does information mean?

1. nounFacts, knowledge, or details communicated about something or stored for use.

Information in a sentence

• The report contained useful information about the new tax rules.

• She requested more information before signing the contract.

Where does information come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb informare, which literally meant 'to give shape to' or 'to form an idea in the mind', built from the prefix in- 'into' and forma 'shape, form'. From that verb came the Latin noun informatio, meaning a concept, an outline, or an instruction; in other words, the act of shaping someone's understanding. English picked it up through Old French enformacion in the 1300s, when it referred to teaching, instruction, or the forming of the mind. Over the centuries the meaning narrowed and hardened into the modern idea of facts and knowledge that can be communicated or stored. The old sense of 'forming' is still visible in the spelling, since the root 'form' sits intact in the middle, a useful reminder that the word is in-FORM-ation and not 'imformation'.

How the word is built

• in- (into)
• form (shape, mould)
• -ation (noun of process or result)