Knowledge
nounFacts, information, and understanding gained through experience or study.
How to spell knowledge
9 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce knowledge
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does knowledge mean?
- nounFacts, information, and understanding gained through experience or study.
Knowledge in a sentence
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Her knowledge of tax law saved the firm a fortune.
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The role demands a working knowledge of three languages.
Where does knowledge come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
Knowledge grew out of the Old English verb cnawan, meaning 'to recognise or be acquainted with', the same root that gives us the modern verb 'know' with its silent k. In Middle English the noun appeared as 'knowleche' or 'knowlage', combining that verb with a suffix '-leche' that signalled an action or process, so the word originally carried the sense of the act of acknowledging or recognising something. Over the 1300s and 1400s the meaning broadened from the act of knowing to the body of facts and understanding a person holds. The spelling settled with the 'know-' opening preserved from its verb, which is why the silent k and the soft 'ledge' ending trip up writers who spell by sound. Its cousin 'acknowledge' carries the same '-ledge' element, a useful reminder of how the word is built.
How the word is built
- know (Old English cnawan: to recognise)
- -ledge (a noun-forming suffix related to action or condition)
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