intelligence

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French intelligence, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin intelligentia.

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈtɛl.ɪˌd​͡ʒəns/
• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

  Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

intelligence (countable and uncountable, plural intelligences)

1. (uncountable) Capacity of mind, especially to understand principles, truths, facts or meanings, acquire knowledge, and apply it to practice; the ability to comprehend and learn.
   • 1912, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, Chapter 5

     Not so, however, with Tarzan, the man-child. His life amidst the dangers of the jungle had taught him to meet emergencies with self-confidence, and his higher intelligence resulted in a quickness of mental action far beyond the powers of the apes.

   • Template:quote-magazine
2. (countable) An entity that has such capacities.
   • Tennyson

     The great Intelligences fair / That range above our mortal state, / In circle round the blessed gate, / Received and gave him welcome there.

3. (uncountable) Information, usually secret, about the enemy or about hostile activities.
4. (countable) A political or military department, agency or unit designed to gather information, usually secret, about the enemy or about hostile activities.
5. (dated) Acquaintance; intercourse; familiarity.
   • Clarendon

     He lived rather in a fair intelligence than any friendship with the favourite

Synonyms

• (capacity of mind): wit, intellect, brightness
• (entity): see Thesaurus:sentient
• See also Thesaurus:intelligence

Derived terms

(deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

• artificial intelligence
• CIA
• counterintelligence
• counter-intelligence
• intel
• IQ
• machine intelligence
• MI5
• MI6
• nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people
• SIS

 

Translations

capacity of mind

• Albanian: zbulimit
• Arabic: ذَكَاء m (ḏakāʔ)
• Aragonese: intelichencia f
• Armenian: բանականություն (hy) (banakanutʻyun), խելք (hy) (xelkʻ)
• Assamese: বুদ্ধি (buddhi)
• Asturian: intelixencia f
• Bashkir: аҡыл (aqıl)
• Catalan: intel·ligència (ca) f, seny (ca) m, llestesa f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 心智 (zh) (xīnzhì), 智力 (zh) (zhìlì)

• Czech: inteligence (cs) f
• Danish: intelligens c
• Dutch: intelligentie (nl) f
• Esperanto: inteligenteco
• Estonian: arukus
• Faroese: vit n
• Finnish: äly (fi), älykkyys (fi)
• French: intelligence (fr) f
• Galician: intelixencia f
• Georgian: ჭკუა (č̣ḳua), ინტელექტი (ka) (inṭelekṭi), გონებრივი შესაძლებლობები pl (gonebrivi šesaʒleblobebi)
• German: Intelligenz (de) f, Klugheit (de) f
• Greek: νοημοσύνη (el) f (noïmosýni)
• Hausa: fahami
• Hebrew: אינטליגנציה (he) f (inteligéntsya), שכל (he) m (sekhel)
• Hindi: बुद्धि (hi) (buddhi)
• Hungarian: intelligencia (hu)
• Icelandic: greind f
• Ido: inteligenteso (io)
• Irish: meabhair f, éirimiúlacht f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: intelligenza (it) f
• Japanese: 知力 (ja) (ちりょく, chiryokú)
• Korean: 지혜 (ko) (jihye), 이해력 (ihaeryeok)
• Kurdish:
• Latin: ingenium (la) n, intelligentia f
• Latvian: saprāts m, gudrība f
• Lithuanian: inteligencija (lt) f
• Macedonian: интелиге́нција f (inteligéncija)
• Malay: kecerdasan
• Mongolian: оюун ухаан (ojuun uxaan)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: intelligens (no) m

  Nynorsk: intelligens m

• Old English: orþanc m
• Persian: هوش (fa) (huš)
• Polish: inteligencja (pl) f
• Portuguese: inteligência (pt) f
• Romanian: inteligență (ro) f, judecată (ro) f
• Russian: интелле́кт (ru) m (intellékt), интеллиге́нтность (ru) f (intelligéntnostʹ)
• Sanskrit: प्रज्ञा (sa) (prajñā)
• Serbo-Croatian: inteligencija (sh) f
• Slovene: inteligenca f
• Spanish: inteligencia (es) f
• Swedish: intelligens (sv) c
• Tagalog: katalinuhan, talino
• Telugu: మేధస్సు (te) (mēdhassu)
• Thai: ปรีชา (bpreechaa), เมธา (maytaa), สมอง (th) (sà-mɔ̌ɔng)
• Turkish: zekâ (tr), akıl (tr), anlayış (tr)
• Vietnamese: trí tuệ (vi), trí thông minh, trí năng (vi)
• Yiddish: שׂכל m (seykhl)
• Zazaki: aqil, fam

entity that has such capacities

• Catalan: intel·ligència (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 情報／情报 (zh) (qíngbào), 情报 (zh) (qíngbào)

• Czech: inteligence (cs) f
• Danish: intelligens c
• Dutch: intelligent wezen (nl) n
• Esperanto: inteligento
• Estonian: haritlane
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: intelligentes Leben n
• Greek: νοήμων (el) m or f (noḯmon)
• Macedonian: интелиге́нција f (inteligéncija)
• Portuguese: inteligência (pt) f
• Russian: интеллиге́нция (ru) f (intelligéncija)
• Serbo-Croatian: inteligencija (sh) f
• Swedish: intelligens (sv) c
• Turkish: akıllı yaşam

information about the enemy

• Arabic: مَعْلُومَات f pl (maʕlūmāt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 情報／情报 (zh) (qíngbào), 情报 (zh) (qíngbào)

• Danish: efterretninger pl
• Dutch: inlichtingen (nl) pl
• Estonian: luureandmed
• Finnish: tiedustelutieto
• French: renseignements (fr) m pl
• Georgian: დაზვერვა (dazverva), სადაზვერვო მონაცემები pl (sadazvervo monacemebi)
• German: Geheimdienstinformationen f pl
• Greek: πληροφορία (el) f (pliroforía)
• Hebrew: מודיעין (he)
• Japanese: 情報 (ja) (じょうほう, jōhō)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: 정보 (ko) (jeongbo) (情報 (ko))
• Latin: nūntius (la) m
• Macedonian: разузнавање n (razuznavanje)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: etterretning m or f

  Nynorsk: etterretning f

• Polish: wywiad (pl) m
• Portuguese: inteligência (pt) f
• Romanian: inteligență (ro) f
• Russian: разведда́нные (ru) n pl (razveddánnyje), разве́дывательные да́нные n pl (razvédyvatelʹnyje dánnyje), све́дения (ru) n pl (svédenija)
• Swedish: underrättelse (sv) c
• Tagalog: pamalay
• Turkish: istihbarat (tr) (istihbārat)

a department, agency or unit designed to gather such information

• Arabic: جِهَاز اَلْمُخَابَرَات m (jihāz al-muḵābarāt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 情報機構／情报机构, 情报机构 (qíngbào jīgòu)

• Czech: zpravodajská služba f, rozvědka f
• Danish: efterretningstjeneste c
• Dutch: inlichtingendienst (nl) m
• Estonian: luure
• Faroese: fregnartænasta f
• Finnish: sotilastiedustelu
• French: renseignements (fr) m pl
• Georgian: სადაზვერვო სამსახური (sadazvervo samsaxuri), დაზვერვის ორგანო (dazvervis organo)
• German: Geheimdienst (de) m, Nachrichtendienst (de) m, Sicherheitsdienst (de) m
• Greek: υπηρεσία πληροφοριών f (ypiresía pliroforión)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hebrew: אגף המודיעין (agaf ha'modi'in)
• Hungarian: hírszerzés (hu)
• Japanese: 情報機関 (じょうほうきかん, jōhō kikan)
• Macedonian: разузна́вачка слу́жба f (razuznávačka slúžba)
• Polish: wywiad (pl) m
• Portuguese: inteligência (pt) f
• Russian: разве́дка (ru) f (razvédka)
• Serbo-Croatian: obavještajna služba f
• Slovene: obveščevalna služba f
• Swedish: underrättelsetjänst c
• Tagalog: pamalayan
• Turkish: istihbarat teşkilatı (istihbārat teşkīlātı)
• Ukrainian: розві́дка f (rozvídka)

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French

Etymology

From Latin intelligentia (“the act of choosing between, intelligence”), from intellegō (“understand”), from inter (“between”) + legō (“choose, pick out, read”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.tɛ.li.ʒɑ̃s/, /ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃s/
• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

  audio

  (file)

Noun

intelligence f (plural intelligences)

1. intelligence; cleverness
2. comprehension

Further reading

• “intelligence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English intelligence.

Noun

intelligence f (invariable)

1. A political or military department, agency or unit designed to gather information.

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Middle French

Noun

intelligence f (plural intelligences)

1. intelligence
2. comprehension

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Old French

Noun

intelligence oblique singular, f (oblique plural intelligences, nominative singular intelligence, nominative plural intelligences)

1. comprehension
2. meaning
3. ability to comprehend

Descendants

• English: intelligence (borrowed)
• French: intelligence

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (intelligence, supplement)