idea

See also: Appendix:Variations of "idea"

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *weyd-der.

Ancient Greek ῐ̓δεῖν (ĭdeîn)

Ancient Greek ῐ̓δέᾱ (ĭdéā)der.

Latin ideabor.

English idea

Borrowed from Latin idea (“a (Platonic) idea; archetype”), from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to know; see”). Cognate with French idée. Doublet of idée. Related to idol, idolum, and eidolon.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /aɪ̯ˈdɪə̯/
  • (Southern England, triggers Intrusive R) IPA^(key): [ɑjˈdɪː(‿ɹ)]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /aɪ̯ˈdi.ə/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • (US, Appalachia, r-epenthesis) IPA^(key): /aːˈdɪɹ/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /aɪ̯ˈdiə̯/, [ɑeˈdiə], [-ˈdeə]
• (Southern US, obsolete) IPA^(key): /aɪˈdiː/, /ˈaɪdi/
• (Indic) IPA^(key): /ˈaɪɖɪa/
• Hyphenation: i‧dea, i‧de‧a
• Rhymes: -ɪə, -iːə

Noun

idea (plural ideas or (philosophy, rare) ideæ)

1. (philosophy) An abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect approximations; pure essence, as opposed to actual examples. [from 14th c.]
   • 2013 October 19, “Trouble at the lab”, in The Economist, volume 409, number 8858:

     The idea that the same experiments always get the same results, no matter who performs them, is one of the cornerstones of science’s claim to objective truth. If a systematic campaign of replication does not lead to the same results, then either the original research is flawed (as the replicators claim) or the replications are (as many of the original researchers on priming contend). Either way, something is awry.

2. (obsolete) The conception of someone or something as representing a perfect example; an ideal. [16th–19th c.]
3. (obsolete) The form or shape of something; a quintessential aspect or characteristic. [16th–18th c.]
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 6, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     The remembrance whereof (which yet I beare deepely imprinted in my minde) representing me her visage and Idea so lively and so naturally, doth in some sort reconcile me unto her.

4. An image of an object that is formed in the mind or recalled by the memory. [from 16th c.]

   The mere idea of you is enough to excite me.

5. More generally, any result of mental activity; a thought, a notion; a way of thinking. [from 17th c.]
   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter III, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.

   • 1952, Alfred Whitney Griswold, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     Ideas won't go to jail.

6. A conception in the mind of something to be done; a plan for doing something, an intention. [from 17th c.]

   I have an idea of how we might escape.

7. A purposeful aim or goal; intent

   Yeah, that's the idea.

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter III, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.

   • 2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71:

     Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.

8. A vague or fanciful notion; a feeling or hunch; an impression. [from 17th c.]

   He had the wild idea that if he leant forward a little, he might be able to touch the mountain-top.

9. (music) A musical theme or melodic subject. [from 18th c.]

Synonyms

• (mental transcript, image, or picture): image

Derived terms

• absolute idea
• abstract idea
• all the gear and no idea
• buck up one's ideas
• business idea
• counteridea
• fixed idea
• get the idea
• have no idea
• have the first idea
• idea art
• idea'd
• idea dinner
• ideaed
• ideaful
• idea future
• ideagenous
• idea hamster
• ideahood
• idealess
• idea man
• idea monger
• ideamonger
• idea of reference
• idea pot
• ideascape
• ideathon
• idea virus
• life-idea
• memory-idea
• monoideism
• mother-idea
• no idea
• nonidea
• not have the faintest idea
• not have the first idea
• one-idea
• overvalued idea
• over-valued idea
• received idea
• sense-idea
• simple idea
• subidea
• the very idea
• unideaed
• war of ideas
• what's the big idea

Related terms

• ideal
• idealism
• idealist
• ideality
• idealize
• ideate
• ideatum
• ideocracy
• ideologue
• ideology
• in idea

Collocations

Collocations

• good idea
• bad idea
• better idea
• great idea
• new idea
• slightest idea
• least idea
• basic idea
• general idea
• whole idea
• fixed idea
• mistaken idea
• leading idea
• guiding idea
• confused idea
• following idea
• controlling idea
• prevailing idea
• ruling idea
• accepted idea
• clear idea
• original idea

Descendants

• → Burmese: အိုင်ဒီယာ (uingdiya)
• → Japanese: アイディア (aidia), アイデア (aidea)
• → Korean: 아이디어 (aidieo)
• → Thai: ไอเดีย (ai-diia)

Translations

philosophy: abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect

• Bulgarian: иде́я (bg) f (idéja)
• Catalan: idea (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 構想 / 构想 (zh) (gòuxiǎng), 構思 / 构思 (zh) (gòusī), 理念 (zh) (lǐniàn)

• Esperanto: ideo (eo)
• Finnish: idea (fi)
• Galician: idea (gl) f
• Hungarian: idea (hu), eszme (hu)
• Italian: concetto (it) m, principio (it)
• Naga:

  Khiamniungan Naga: tûa

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: idé (no) m, konsept n

• Polish: idea (pl) f
• Russian: иде́я (ru) f (idéja)

(obsolete in English) the conception of someone or something as representing an ideal

• Finnish: idea (fi)
• Hungarian: eszmény (hu)
• Italian: ideale (it) m, archetipo (it) m
• Naga:

  Khiamniungan Naga: tûa

(obsolete in English) the form or shape of something; a quintessential aspect or characteristic

• Finnish: olemus (fi)
• Italian: aspetto (it) m, forma (it) f

an image of an object that is formed in the mind or recalled by the memory

• Afrikaans: idee
• Albanian: ide (sq) f
• Amharic: ሐሳብ (am) (ḥäsab)
• Armenian: միտք (hy) (mitkʻ), գաղափար (hy) (gaġapʻar)
• Asturian: idea f
• Azerbaijani: düşüncə (az), fikir (az)
• Bashkir: фекер (feker), төшөнсә (töşönsə)
• Belarusian: ідэ́я (be) f (idéja), ду́мка (be) f (dúmka)
• Bulgarian: предста́ва (bg) f (predstáva), иде́я (bg) f (idéja), ми́съл (bg) f (mísǎl)
• Burmese: အကြံ (my) (a.kram), အိုင်ဒီယာ (uingdiya)
• Catalan: idea (ca) f
• Cebuano: hunahuna
• Chechen: ойла (ojla)
• Cherokee: ᎠᏓᏅᏖᏗ (adanvtedi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 主意 (zh) (zhǔyi), 思想 (zh) (sīxiǎng), 想法 (zh) (xiǎngfǎ)

• Czech: nápad (cs) m, myšlenka (cs) f, idea (cs) f
• Danish: begreb n, idé
• Dutch: idee (nl) n, ingeving (nl) f, gedachte (nl) f, denkbeeld (nl) n
• Esperanto: ideo (eo)
• Estonian: mõte (et)
• Ewe: susu n
• Finnish: ajatus (fi), mielikuva (fi)
• French: idée (fr) f
• Friulian: idee f
• Galician: idea (gl) f
• Georgian: იდეა (idea), ცნება (cneba)
• German: Idee (de) f, Ahnung (de) f

  Alemannic German: Idee f, Ahnig f

• Greek: ιδέα (el) f (idéa)
• Guarani:

  Paraguayan Guarani: ^{(please verify)} temimo'ã

• Haitian Creole: lide
• Hebrew: רַעֲיוֹן (he) m (ra'ayon)
• Hindi: विचार (hi) m (vicār)
• Hungarian: elképzelés (hu), elgondolás (hu), eszme (hu), fogalom (hu), ötlet (hu)
• Icelandic: hugmynd (is) f
• Indonesian: ide (id)
• Interlingua: idea (ia)
• Irish: smaoineamh m
• Italian: idea (it) f, pensata (it) f
• Japanese: 着想 (ja) (ちゃくそう, chakusō), 考え (ja) (かんがえ, kangae), 主意 (ja) (しゅい, shui), アイデア (ja) (aidea), 思想 (ja) (しそう, shisō)
• Kazakh: ой (kk) (oi), идея (ideä), пікір (pıkır)
• Khmer: គំនិត (km) (kumnɨt), ចិន្តា (cəntaa), ចេតនា (km) (ceetaʼnaa), ចេតសិក (km) (ceetaʼsək)
• Korean: 생각 (ko) (saenggak), 아이디어 (ko) (aidieo), 사상(思想) (ko) (sasang)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: بیروڕا (bîrurra)

• Kyrgyz: ой (ky) (oy), идея (ky) (ideya), пикир (ky) (pikir)
• Lao: ຄວາມຄຶດ (lo) (khuām khưt)
• Latin: īnfōrmātiō (la) f
• Latvian: ideja f, doma f
• Lithuanian: idėja f, mintis (lt) f
• Luxembourgish: Iddi f
• Macedonian: иде́ја f (idéja), мисла (mk) f (misla)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: санаа (mn) (sanaa)

• Naga:

  Khiamniungan Naga: tûa

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: begrep (no) n, idé (no) m

• Old English: ġeþōht m
• Persian: ایدِه (fa) (ide), فِکر (fa) (fekr)
• Plautdietsch: Iedee f
• Polish: idea (pl) f, pomysł (pl) m
• Portuguese: ideia (pt) f
• Romanian: idee (ro) f
• Russian: иде́я (ru) f (idéja), мысль (ru) f (myslʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: beachd m, smaoin f, beachd-smaoin f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: помисао f, замисао f, идеја f, мисао f

  Latin: pomisao (sh) f, zamisao (sh) f, ideja (sh) f, misao (sh) f

• Slovak: nápad f, myšlienka (sk) f, idea f
• Slovene: predstava (sl) f, zamisel m, ideja f
• Spanish: idea (es) f
• Swahili: wazo (sw)
• Swedish: idé (sv), tanke (sv)
• Tajik: идея (tg) (ideya), фикр (tg) (fikr), ғоя (ġoya), ақида (aqida)
• Tatar: төшенчә (tt) (töşençä), фикер (tt) (fiker), уй (tt) (uy), мәсләк (tt) (mäsläk)
• Telugu: ఉపాయము (te) (upāyamu)
• Thai: ความคิด (th) (kwaam-kít)
• Tocharian B: palskalñe
• Turkish: düşünce (tr)
• Turkmen: pikir, ideýa
• Ukrainian: іде́я (uk) f (idéja), ду́мка (uk) f (dúmka)
• Uyghur: پىكىر (pikir)
• Uzbek: tushuncha (uz), fikr (uz), gʻoya (uz), ideya (uz), oʻy (uz), xayol (uz)
• Vietnamese: ý định (vi) (意定), tư tưởng (vi) (思想), ý niệm (vi) (意念)
• Welsh: syniad (cy) m
• Yiddish: אידעע (idee)

any result of mental activity; a thought, a notion; a way of thinking

• Arabic: فِكْرَة (ar) (fikra), فِكْر (ar) (fikr)

  Hijazi Arabic: فكرة (ar) (fikra)

• Bashkir: төшөнсә (töşönsə), фекер (feker)
• Bulgarian: поня́тие (bg) n (ponjátie)
• Burmese: အကြံ (my) (a.kram)
• Catalan: idea (ca) f
• Dutch: gedachte (nl) f, bedenking (nl) f, idee (nl) n
• Estonian: arvamus (et)
• Finnish: ajatus (fi)
• French: pensée (fr)
• Galician: idea (gl) f
• Hindi: विचार (hi) m (vicār)
• Hungarian: gondolat (hu)
• Irish: smaoineamh m, idé f, nóisean m
• Italian: parere (it) m, idea (it) f, pensiero (it) m
• Māori: ariā
• Portuguese: ideia (pt) f
• Romanian: părere (ro) f
• Russian: представле́ние (ru) n (predstavlénije), поня́тие (ru) n (ponjátije)
• Scottish Gaelic: beachd m, smaoin f, beachd-smaoin f
• Telugu: అభిప్రాయము (te) (abhiprāyamu)

a conception in the mind of something to be done; a plan for doing something, an intention

• Bulgarian: иде́я (bg) f (idéja), план (bg) m (plan)
• Catalan: idea (ca) f
• Dutch: bedoeling (nl) f, intentie (nl) f, plan (nl) n, idee (nl) n
• Estonian: kavatsus
• Finnish: ajatus (fi), idea (fi)
• French: idée (fr) f
• Galician: idea (gl) f
• Hindi: विचार (hi) m (vicār)
• Hungarian: ötlet (hu), terv (hu), elképzelés (hu)
• Italian: pensiero (it) m, piano (it) m, progetto (it) m, intuizione (it) f, intento (it), idea (it) f
• Korean: 구상(構想) (ko) (gusang)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: idé (no) m

• Portuguese: plano (pt) m, ideia (pt) f
• Romanian: idee (ro) f
• Russian: иде́я (ru) f (idéja), план (ru) m (plan), за́мысел (ru) m (zámysel)
• Scottish Gaelic: smaoin f
• Spanish: plano (es) m, idea (es) f, ideal (es) (attributive)
• Swedish: idé (sv) c
• Telugu: వ్యూహము (te) (vyūhamu)
• Welsh: amcan (cy) m

a vague or fanciful notion; a feeling or hunch; an impression

• Bulgarian: предста́ва (bg) f (predstáva)
• Catalan: idea (ca) f
• Dutch: indruk (nl) m, impressie (nl) f, idee (nl) n
• Estonian: aimdus
• Finnish: ajatus (fi), kuvitelma (fi)
• Hindi: विचार (hi) m (vicār)
• Hungarian: ötlet (hu), elképzelés (hu), képzet (hu)
• Irish: tuairim (ga) f, barúil (ga) f
• Italian: impressione (it) f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: idé (no) m, innfall (no) n

• Portuguese: noção (pt) f
• Romanian: bănuială (ro) f
• Scottish Gaelic: beachd m, smaoin f, beachd-smaoin f
• Welsh: amcan (cy) m

a musical theme or melodic subject

• Finnish: teema (fi)
• Hungarian: téma (hu)
• Italian: tema (it) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tema (no) n

• Russian: те́ма (ru) f (téma)
• Telugu: స్వరకల్పన (svarakalpana)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Mongolian: ^{(please verify)} санаа (mn) (sanaa)
• Woiwurrung: ^{(please verify)} ngang-garra-moomin-in

Further reading

• “idea”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “idea”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “idea”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “idea”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “idea”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
• “idea”, in Collins English Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Adie, aide, daie

Asturian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”).

Noun

idea f (plural idees)

1. idea

Related terms

• ideal

Catalan

Alternative forms

• ideia (dialectal, proscribed)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [iˈðe.ə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [iˈðɛ.ə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [iˈðe.a]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

Noun

idea f (plural idees)

1. An idea, a mental representation of a real or imaginary thing

   La idea de justícia. ― The idea of justice.

2. An elementary or general notion of something

   No en tenia la més petita idea. ― I/She/He didn't have the slightest idea.

3. A concept to be realized, plan of action, purpose, intention

   M’agrada, la idea'! ― I like the idea!

4. The fundamental, substantial part of a doctrine, a reasoning, etc

   La idea cristiana. ― The Christian idea.

Usage notes

• Often pronounced as ideia.

Related terms

• ideal
• idear
• ideari

Further reading

• “idea”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “idea”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “idea” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “idea” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Chinese

Etymology

From English idea.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): aai⁶ di¹ aa⁴

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: aai⁶ di¹ aa⁴
    • Yale: aaih dī àh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: aai⁶ di¹ aa⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ai⁶ di¹ a⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /aːi̯²² tiː⁵⁵ aː²¹/

Noun

idea

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) idea; plan

References

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa), from εἴδω (eídō).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɪdɛa]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

idea f

1. idea (that which exists in the mind as the result of mental activity)

Declension

Declension of idea (feminine in -ea)

	singular	plural
nominative	idea	idey, ideje
genitive	idey, ideje	idejí
dative	ideji	ideám, idejím
accusative	ideu	idey, ideje
vocative	ideo	idey, ideje
locative	ideji	ideách, idejích
instrumental	ideou, idejí	ideami, idejemi

Related terms

• ideace
• idealismus
• idealista
• idealizace
• idealizovaný
• idealizovat
• ideál
• ideolog
• ideologický
• ideologie
• ideový
• ideozločin

Further reading

• “idea”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “idea”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “idea”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈideɑ/, [ˈide̞ɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ideɑ
• Syllabification^(key): i‧de‧a
• Hyphenation^(key): idea

Noun

idea

1. idea

   Synonyms: ajatus, oivallus

Declension

Inflection of idea (Kotus type 12/kulkija, no gradation)
nominative		idea	ideat
genitive		idean	ideoiden ideoitten
partitive		ideaa	ideoita
illative		ideaan	ideoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		idea	ideat
accusative	nom.	idea	ideat
	gen.	idean
genitive		idean	ideoiden ideoitten ideain rare
partitive		ideaa	ideoita
inessive		ideassa	ideoissa
elative		ideasta	ideoista
illative		ideaan	ideoihin
adessive		idealla	ideoilla
ablative		idealta	ideoilta
allative		idealle	ideoille
essive		ideana	ideoina
translative		ideaksi	ideoiksi
abessive		ideatta	ideoitta
instructive		—	ideoin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of idea (Kotus type 12/kulkija, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative ideani ideani accusative nom. ideani ideani gen. ideani genitive ideani ideoideni ideoitteni ideaini rare partitive ideaani ideoitani inessive ideassani ideoissani elative ideastani ideoistani illative ideaani ideoihini adessive ideallani ideoillani ablative idealtani ideoiltani allative idealleni ideoilleni essive ideanani ideoinani translative ideakseni ideoikseni abessive ideattani ideoittani instructive — — comitative — ideoineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative ideasi ideasi accusative nom. ideasi ideasi gen. ideasi genitive ideasi ideoidesi ideoittesi ideaisi rare partitive ideaasi ideoitasi inessive ideassasi ideoissasi elative ideastasi ideoistasi illative ideaasi ideoihisi adessive ideallasi ideoillasi ablative idealtasi ideoiltasi allative ideallesi ideoillesi essive ideanasi ideoinasi translative ideaksesi ideoiksesi abessive ideattasi ideoittasi instructive — — comitative — ideoinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative ideamme ideamme accusative nom. ideamme ideamme gen. ideamme genitive ideamme ideoidemme ideoittemme ideaimme rare partitive ideaamme ideoitamme inessive ideassamme ideoissamme elative ideastamme ideoistamme illative ideaamme ideoihimme adessive ideallamme ideoillamme ablative idealtamme ideoiltamme allative ideallemme ideoillemme essive ideanamme ideoinamme translative ideaksemme ideoiksemme abessive ideattamme ideoittamme instructive — — comitative — ideoinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative ideanne ideanne accusative nom. ideanne ideanne gen. ideanne genitive ideanne ideoidenne ideoittenne ideainne rare partitive ideaanne ideoitanne inessive ideassanne ideoissanne elative ideastanne ideoistanne illative ideaanne ideoihinne adessive ideallanne ideoillanne ablative idealtanne ideoiltanne allative ideallenne ideoillenne essive ideananne ideoinanne translative ideaksenne ideoiksenne abessive ideattanne ideoittanne instructive — — comitative — ideoinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative ideansa ideansa accusative nom. ideansa ideansa gen. ideansa genitive ideansa ideoidensa ideoittensa ideainsa rare partitive ideaansa ideoitaan ideoitansa inessive ideassaan ideassansa ideoissaan ideoissansa elative ideastaan ideastansa ideoistaan ideoistansa illative ideaansa ideoihinsa adessive ideallaan ideallansa ideoillaan ideoillansa ablative idealtaan idealtansa ideoiltaan ideoiltansa allative idealleen ideallensa ideoilleen ideoillensa essive ideanaan ideanansa ideoinaan ideoinansa translative ideakseen ideaksensa ideoikseen ideoiksensa abessive ideattaan ideattansa ideoittaan ideoittansa instructive — — comitative — ideoineen ideoinensa

Derived terms

• ideoida
• idis

compounds

• bisnesidea
• ideakilpailu
• ideanikkari
• ideariihi
• idearikas
• kuningasidea
• liikeidea
• ohjelmaidea
• tuoteidea

Further reading

• “idea”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

Galician

Alternative forms

• ideia (reintegrationist)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈdɛa/ [iˈð̞ɛ.ɐ]
• Rhymes: -ɛa
• Hyphenation: i‧de‧a

Noun

idea f (plural ideas)

1. idea

Related terms

• ideal

Further reading

• “idea”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Hungarian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈidɛɒ]
• Hyphenation: idea
• Syllabification: i‧de‧a
• Rhymes: -ɒ

Noun

idea (plural ideák)

1. (philosophy or formal) idea

   Synonyms: eszme, ötlet, gondolat

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	idea	ideák
accusative	ideát	ideákat
dative	ideának	ideáknak
instrumental	ideával	ideákkal
causal-final	ideáért	ideákért
translative	ideává	ideákká
terminative	ideáig	ideákig
essive-formal	ideaként	ideákként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	ideában	ideákban
superessive	ideán	ideákon
adessive	ideánál	ideáknál
illative	ideába	ideákba
sublative	ideára	ideákra
allative	ideához	ideákhoz
elative	ideából	ideákból
delative	ideáról	ideákról
ablative	ideától	ideáktól
non-attributive possessive – singular	ideáé	ideáké
non-attributive possessive – plural	ideáéi	ideákéi

Possessive forms of idea

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	ideám	ideáim
2nd person sing.	ideád	ideáid
3rd person sing.	ideája	ideái
1st person plural	ideánk	ideáink
2nd person plural	ideátok	ideáitok
3rd person plural	ideájuk	ideáik

Further reading

• idea in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Interlingua

Noun

idea (plural ideas)

1. idea

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈdɛ.a/
• Rhymes: -ɛa
• Hyphenation: i‧dè‧a

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”).

Noun

idea f (plural idee)

1. idea

   buon'idea ― good idea

Related terms

• ideale
• ideare
• ideazione
• ideo-

Etymology 2

Verb

idea

1. inflection of ideare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• idea in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• aedi

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɪ.de.a]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈiː.de.a]

Noun

idea f (genitive ideae); first declension

1. idea
   • 1719, Johann Jakob Brucker, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     Tentamen Introductionis in Historiam Doctrinae Logicae de Ideis

     An Essay Introducing the History of the Logical Doctrine of Ideas

2. prototype (Platonic)

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	idea	ideae
genitive	ideae	ideārum
dative	ideae	ideīs
accusative	ideam	ideās
ablative	ideā	ideīs
vocative	idea	ideae

Descendants

• Asturian: idea
• Catalan: idea
• English: idea
• Danish: idé
• Dutch: idee
• French: idée
  • → English: idée
  • → Persian: ایده (ide)
  • → German: Idee
  • Haitian Creole: ide, lide
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: idé
  • → Norwegian Nynorsk: idé
  • → Swedish: idé
  • → Turkish: ide
• Friulian: idee
• Galician: idea
• → Hungarian: idea
• Irish: idé
• Italian: idea
• Piedmontese: idea
• Polish: idea
• Portuguese: ideia
• Romanian: idee
• Spanish: idea
• → Translingual: Idea (learned)

References

• “idea”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "idea", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from English idea, from Latin idea (“a (Platonic) idea; archetype”), from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”).

Pronunciation

• (schwa-variety) IPA^(key): /ˈajdjə/ [ˈai̯.djə] (English-based)
  • Rhymes: -ai̯djə, -ə

• (Baku) IPA^(key): /iˈdea/ [iˈde.a]
• Hyphenation: i‧dea

Noun

idéa (Jawi spelling ايديا, plural idea-idea or idea²)

1. idea

Alternative forms

• ide (Indonesia, Timor-Leste)

Maltese

Alternative forms

• ideja, idija

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian idea.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈdɛː.a/, /ɪˈdɛː.ja/
• Homophone: idejha (one pronunciation)
• Rhymes: -ɛːa, -ɛːja

Noun

idea f (plural ideat)

1. idea; thought; opinion

Related terms

• ideali
• idealistikament
• idealistiku
• idealiżmu
• idealizza
• idealizzazzjoni
• idealment
• idejabbli
• idejal

Northern Sami

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈitea̯/

Noun

idea

1. idea

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

• Eino Koponen, Klaas Ruppel, Kirsti Aapala, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[2], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin idea.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈdɛ.a/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛa
• Syllabification: i‧de‧a

Noun

idea f (diminutive idejka)

1. idea (image of an object that is formed in the mind or recalled by the memory)

   Synonym: pomysł

2. (philosophy) idea (abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect)
3. keynote, mission statement

Declension

Declension of idea

	singular	plural
nominative	idea	idee
genitive	idei	idei
dative	idei	ideom
accusative	ideę	idee
instrumental	ideą	ideami
locative	idei	ideach
vocative	ideo	idee

Derived terms

adjectives

• bezideowy
• ideowy

adverbs

• bezideowo
• ideowo

nouns

• bezideowiec
• bezideowość
• ideowiec
• ideowość

Further reading

• idea in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• idea in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian ideare.

Verb

a idea (third-person singular present ideează, past participle ideat) 1st conjugation

1. to invent, to conceive

Conjugation

    conjugation of idea (first conjugation, -ez- infix)

infinitive			a idea
gerund			ideând
past participle			ideat
number		singular			plural
person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	ideez	ideezi	ideează	ideăm	ideați	ideează
	imperfect	ideam	ideai	idea	ideam	ideați	ideau
	simple perfect	ideai	ideași	ideă	idearăm	idearăți	ideară
	pluperfect	ideasem	ideaseși	idease	ideaserăm	ideaserăți	ideaseră
subjunctive		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	să ideez	să ideezi	să ideeze	să ideăm	să ideați	să ideeze
imperative		—	tu	—	—	voi	—
	affirmative		ideează			ideați
	negative		nu idea			nu ideați

Slovak

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin idea (“a (Platonic) idea; archetype”), from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /idea/, [ˈidea]
• Rhymes: -ea
• Hyphenation: i‧de‧a

Noun

idea f (genitive singular idey, nominative plural idey, genitive plural ideí, declension pattern of idea)

1. idea (that which exists in the mind as the result of mental activity)

Declension

Declension of idea
(pattern žena, loanword ending with -ea)

	singular	plural
nominative	idea	idey
genitive	idey	ideí
dative	idei	ideám
accusative	ideu	idey
locative	idei	ideách
instrumental	ideou	ideami

Related terms

• ideál m
• idealista m
• idealistický m
• idealizácia f
• idealizmus m
• ideológ m
• ideológia f
• ideologický m
• ideovo, ideove
• ideovosť f
• ideový m

Further reading

• “idea”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iˈdea/ [iˈð̞e.a]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ea
• Syllabification: i‧de‧a

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”). Compare Portuguese ideia.

Alternative forms

• idéa (superseded)

Noun

idea f (plural ideas)

1. idea

Derived terms

• asociación de ideas
• cambiar de idea
• hacerse una idea
• idea fija
• lluvia de ideas
• mala idea
• ni idea
• no tener ni idea
• remota idea
• tormenta de ideas

Related terms

• ideal
• idear

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

idea

1. inflection of idear:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “idea”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• ideya

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish idea, from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔideˈa/ [ʔɪ.d̪ɛˈa], /ʔiˈdea/ [ʔɪˈd̪ɛː.ɐ]
• Rhymes: -a, -ea
• Syllabification: i‧de‧a

Noun

ideá or idea (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜇᜒᜌ)

1. idea; opinion

   Synonyms: palagay, opinyon, kuro-kuro

2. plan; intention

   Synonyms: balak, layon, hangad

Derived terms

• magkaidea
• maidea

Related terms

• ideal
• idealismo
• idealista

Further reading

• “idea”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025
• “idea”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018