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62 definitions found


  UNDERSTANDING, n.  A cerebral secretion that enables one having it to
  know a house from a horse by the roof on the house.  Its nature and
  laws have been exhaustively expounded by Locke, who rode a house, and
  Kant, who lived in a horse.
  
      His understanding was so keen
      That all things which he'd felt, heard, seen,
      He could interpret without fail
      If he was in or out of jail.
      He wrote at Inspiration's call
      Deep disquisitions on them all,
      Then, pent at last in an asylum,
      Performed the service to compile 'em.
      So great a writer, all men swore,
      They never had not read before.
                                                         Jorrock Wormley

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Understand \Un`der*stand"\ ([u^]n`d[~e]r*st[a^]nd"), v. t. [imp.
     & p. p. Understood (([u^]n`d[~e]r*st[oo^]d"),), and Archaic
     Understanded; p. pr. & vb. n. Understanding.] [OE.
     understanden, AS. understandan, literally, to stand under;
     cf. AS. forstandan to understand, G. verstehen. The
     development of sense is not clear. See Under, and Stand.]
     1. To have just and adequate ideas of; to apprehended the
        meaning or intention of; to have knowledge of; to
        comprehend; to know; as, to understand a problem in
        Euclid; to understand a proposition or a declaration; the
        court understands the advocate or his argument; to
        understand the sacred oracles; to understand a nod or a
        wink.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Speaketh [i. e., speak thou] so plain at this time,
              I you pray,
              That we may understande what ye say.  --Chaucer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I understand not what you mean by this. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Understood not all was but a show.    --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              A tongue not understanded of the people. --Bk. of
                                                    Com. Prayer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To be apprised, or have information, of; to learn; to be
        informed of; to hear; as, I understand that Congress has
        passed the bill.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To recognize or hold as being or signifying; to suppose to
        mean; to interpret; to explain.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The most learned interpreters understood the words
              of sin, and not of Abel.              --Locke.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. To mean without expressing; to imply tacitly; to take for
        granted; to assume.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              War, then, war,
              Open or understood, must be resolved. --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. To stand under; to support. [Jocose & R.] --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     To give one to understand, to cause one to know.
  
     To make one's self understood, to make one's meaning clear.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Understanding \Un`der*stand"ing\ ([u^]n`d[~e]r*st[a^]nd"[i^]ng),
     a.
     Knowing; intelligent; skillful; as, he is an understanding
     man.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Understanding \Un`der*stand"ing\, n.
     1. The act of one who understands a thing, in any sense of
        the verb; knowledge; discernment; comprehension;
        interpretation; explanation.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. An agreement of opinion or feeling; adjustment of
        differences; harmony; anything mutually understood or
        agreed upon; as, to come to an understanding with another.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              He hoped the loyalty of his subjects would concur
              with him in the preserving of a good understanding
              between him and his people.           --Clarendon.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. The power to understand; the intellectual faculty; the
        intelligence; the rational powers collectively conceived
        an designated; the higher capacities of the intellect; the
        power to distinguish truth from falsehood, and to adapt
        means to ends.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              But there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of
              the Almighty giveth them understanding. --Job xxxii.
                                                    8.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The power of perception is that which we call the
              understanding. Perception, which we make the act of
              the understanding, is of three sorts: 1. The
              perception of ideas in our mind; 2. The perception
              of the signification of signs; 3. The perception of
              the connection or repugnancy, agreement or
              disagreement, that there is between any of our
              ideas. All these are attributed to the
              understanding, or perceptive power, though it be the
              two latter only that use allows us to say we
              understand.                           --Locke.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              In its wider acceptation, understanding is the
              entire power of perceiving an conceiving, exclusive
              of the sensibility: the power of dealing with the
              impressions of sense, and composing them into
              wholes, according to a law of unity; and in its most
              comprehensive meaning it includes even simple
              apprehension.                         --Coleridge.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. Specifically, the discursive faculty; the faculty of
        knowing by the medium or use of general conceptions or
        relations. In this sense it is contrasted with, and
        distinguished from, the reason.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I use the term understanding, not for the noetic
              faculty, intellect proper, or place of principles,
              but for the dianoetic or discursive faculty in its
              widest signification, for the faculty of relations
              or comparisons; and thus in the meaning in which
              ``verstand'' is now employed by the Germans. --Sir
                                                    W. Hamilton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Sense; intelligence; perception. See Sense.
          [1913 Webster]

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]


  Understanding \Un`der*stand"ing\, a.
     Knowing; intelligent; skillful; as, he is an understanding
     man.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]


  Understanding \Un`der*stand"ing\, n.
     1. The act of one who understands a thing, in any sense of
        the verb; knowledge; discernment; comprehension;
        interpretation; explanation.
  
     2. An agreement of opinion or feeling; adjustment of
        differences; harmony; anything mutually understood or
        agreed upon; as, to come to an understanding with another.
  
              He hoped the loyalty of his subjects would concur
              with him in the preserving of a good understanding
              between him and his people.           --Clarendon.
  
     3. The power to understand; the intellectual faculty; the
        intelligence; the rational powers collectively conceived
        an designated; the higher capacities of the intellect; the
        power to distinguish truth from falsehood, and to adapt
        means to ends.
  
              There is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the
              Almighty them understanding.          --Job xxxii.
                                                    8.
  
              The power of perception is that which we call the
              understanding. Perception, which we make the act of
              the understanding, is of three sorts: 1. The
              perception of ideas in our mind; 2. The perception
              of the signification of signs; 3. The perception of
              the connection or repugnancy, agreement or
              disagreement, that there is between any of our
              ideas. All these are attributed to the
              understanding, or perceptive power, though it be the
              two latter only that use allows us to say we
              understand.                           --Locke.
  
              In its wider acceptation, understanding is the
              entire power of perceiving an conceiving, exclusive
              of the sensibility: the power of dealing with the
              impressions of sense, and composing them into
              wholes, according to a law of unity; and in its most
              comprehensive meaning it includes even simple
              apprehension.                         --Coleridge.
  
     4. Specifically, the discursive faculty; the faculty of
        knowing by the medium or use of general conceptions or
        relations. In this sense it is contrasted with, and
        distinguished from, the reason.
  
              I use the term understanding, not for the noetic
              faculty, intellect proper, or place of principles,
              but for the dianoetic or discursive faculty in its
              widest signification, for the faculty of relations
              or comparisons; and thus in the meaning in which
              ``verstand'' is now employed by the Germans. --Sir
                                                    W. Hamilton.
  
     Syn: Sense; intelligence; perception. See Sense.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]


  Understand \Un`der*stand"\ ([u^]n`d[~e]r*st[a^]nd"), v. t. [imp.
     & p. p. Understood, and Archaic Understanded; p. pr. &
     vb. n. Understanding.] [OE. understanden, AS. understandan,
     literally, to stand under; cf. AS. forstandan to understand,
     G. verstehen. The development of sense is not clear. See
     Under, and Stand.]
     1. To have just and adequate ideas of; to apprehended the
        meaning or intention of; to have knowledge of; to
        comprehend; to know; as, to understand a problem in
        Euclid; to understand a proposition or a declaration; the
        court understands the advocate or his argument; to
        understand the sacred oracles; to understand a nod or a
        wink.

From WordNet (r) 2.0 : [ wn ]


  understanding
       adj : characterized by understanding based on comprehension and
             discernment and empathy; "an understanding friend"
       n 1: the cognitive condition of someone who understands; "he has
            virtually no understanding of social cause and effect"
            [syn: apprehension, discernment, savvy]
       2: the statement (oral or written) of an exchange of promises;
          "they had an agreement that they would not interfere in
          each other's business"; "there was an understanding
          between management and the workers" [syn: agreement]
       3: an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an
          opinion; "his sympathies were always with the underdog";
          "I knew I could count on his understanding" [syn: sympathy]
       4: the capacity for rational thought or inference or
          discrimination; "we are told that man is endowed with
          reason and capable of distinguishing good from evil" [syn:
           reason, intellect]

From Greek Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-el-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  understanding
     Αγγλικά a.
     1 έξυπνος
     2 συμπονετικός
     Αγγλικά n.
     1 νόηση, αντίληψη
     2 κατανόηση
     3 συνεννόηση
     4 συμπόνια και συμπάθια

From English Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  understanding
     a.
     1 Showing compassion, tolerance, and forbearance.
     2 (lb en dated) Knowing; skilful.
     n.
     1 (lb en gerund uncountable) The act of one that understands or
  comprehends; comprehension; knowledge; discernment.
     2 (lb en countable) reason or intelligence, ability to grasp the full
  meaning of knowledge, ability to infer.
     3 (lb en countable) opinion, judgement or outlook.
     vb.
     (present participle of en understand nocat=1)

From English Wiktionary: English language only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-en-2023-07-27 ]


  understanding
     a.
     1 Showing compassion, tolerance, and forbearance.
     2 (lb en dated) Knowing; skilful.
     n.
     1 (lb en gerund uncountable) The act of one that understands or
  comprehends; comprehension; knowledge; discernment.
     2 (lb en countable) reason or intelligence, ability to grasp the full
  meaning of knowledge, ability to infer.
     3 (lb en countable) opinion, judgement or outlook.
     vb.
     (present participle of en understand nocat=1)

From English Wiktionary: Western, Greek, and Slavonic languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western_Greek_Slavonic-2023-07-27 ]


  understanding
     a.
     1 Showing compassion, tolerance, and forbearance.
     2 (lb en dated) Knowing; skilful.
     n.
     1 (lb en gerund uncountable) The act of one that understands or
  comprehends; comprehension; knowledge; discernment.
     2 (lb en countable) reason or intelligence, ability to grasp the full
  meaning of knowledge, ability to infer.
     3 (lb en countable) opinion, judgement or outlook.
     vb.
     (present participle of en understand nocat=1)

From English Wiktionary: Western languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western-2023-07-27 ]


  understanding
     a.
     1 Showing compassion, tolerance, and forbearance.
     2 (lb en dated) Knowing; skilful.
     n.
     1 (lb en gerund uncountable) The act of one that understands or
  comprehends; comprehension; knowledge; discernment.
     2 (lb en countable) reason or intelligence, ability to grasp the full
  meaning of knowledge, ability to infer.
     3 (lb en countable) opinion, judgement or outlook.
     vb.
     (present participle of en understand nocat=1)

From Finnish Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-fi-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  understanding
     Englanti a.
     ymmärtäväinen, myötätuntoinen
     Englanti n.
     1 ymmärrys
     2 yhteisymmärrys
     Englanti vb.
     (en-v-taivm u nderstand ing)

From Swedish Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-sv-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  understanding
     Engelska a.
     (avledning en understand ordform=prespart)
     Engelska vb.
     (böjning en verb understand)

From English-Afrikaans FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.1.3 : [ freedict:eng-afr ]


  understanding /ˌʌndəstˈandɪŋ/
  1. verband
  2. begrip, begripsvermoë

From English-Arabic FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.6.3 : [ freedict:eng-ara ]


  Understanding /ˌʌndəstˈandɪŋ/
  الفهم

From English-български език FreeDict+WikDict dictionary ver. 2023.05.29 : [ freedict:eng-bul ]


  understanding //ʌndəˈstandɪŋ// //ˌʌndɚˈstændɪŋ// 
  1. схватлив
  knowing, skilful
  2. отзивчив
  showing compassion

From English-български език FreeDict+WikDict dictionary ver. 2023.05.29 : [ freedict:eng-bul ]


  understanding //ʌndəˈstandɪŋ// //ˌʌndɚˈstændɪŋ// 
  1. разбиране
  ability to grasp the full meaning of knowledge, ability to infer
  2. съгласие
  informal contract, mutual agreement
  3. разби́ране, споразуме́ние
  mental process of comprehension, assimilation of knowledge, subjective by its nature
  4. схващане
  opinion, judgement or outlook