instruction

English

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “instruction”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Etymology

(deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English instruccioun, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French instruccion, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin instructio; equivalent to instruct +‎ -ion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌkʃən

Noun

instruction (countable and uncountable, plural instructions)

1. (uncountable) The act of instructing, teaching, or furnishing with information or knowledge.

   Students receive instruction in the arts and sciences.

   Instruction will be provided on how to handle difficult customers.

   • 1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 5, in Pulling the Strings:

     Anstruther laughed good-naturedly. “[…] I shall take out half a dozen intelligent maistries from our Press and get them to give our villagers instruction when they begin work and when they are in the fields.”

2. (countable) An instance of the information or knowledge so furnished.
   • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:

     If my instructions may be your guide.

3. (countable) An order or command.
   • Template:RQ:WBsnt IvryGt
4. (computing) A single operation of a processor defined by an instruction set architecture.
5. A set of directions provided by a manufacturer for the users of a product or service.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:instruction

Translations

act of instructing, teaching, or furnishing with knowledge; information

• Arabic: تَعْلِيم (ar) m (taʕlīm)
• Bulgarian: обучение (bg) n (obučenie), инструктаж (bg) m (instruktaž)
• Catalan: instrucció (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 指令 (zh) (zhǐlìng), 指示 (zh) (zhǐshì), 教導／教导 (zh) (jiàodǎo), 教导 (zh) (jiàodǎo)

• Danish: vejledning c
• Dutch: onderwijs (nl) n
• Esperanto: instruado
• Finnish: opastus (fi), opettaminen (fi), ohjaaminen (fi)
• French: instruction (fr) f
• German: Unterricht (de) m
• Greek: οδηγία (el) f (odigía), εκπαίδευση (el) f (ekpaídefsi), εντολή (el) f (entolí), κατάρτιση (el) f (katártisi)
• Hebrew: הוראה (he) f (Hora'ah)
• Irish: deachtú m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: istruzione (it) f, addestramento (it) m, insegnamento (it) m, tirocinio (it) m
• Japanese: 指示 (ja) (しじ, shiji), 教訓 (ja) (きょうくん, kyōkun)
• Latin: īnstructiō f, doctrina f, disciplina f, auditio
• Malay: arahan
• Norwegian: veiledning
• Portuguese: instrução (pt) f
• Romanian: instruire (ro) f, învățare (ro) f, învățământ (ro) n
• Russian: инстру́кция (ru) f (instrúkcija), инструкта́ж (ru) m (instruktáž), наставле́ние (ru) n (nastavlénije), обуче́ние (ru) n (obučénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: stiùireadh m, teagasg m
• Swahili: agizo (sw)
• Swedish: instruktion (sv) c, undervisning (sv) c, skolväsen n or c
• Urdu: اُپْدیش (ur) m (updeś)

that which instructs, or with which one is instructed

• Bulgarian: инструкция (bg) f (instrukcija), указание (bg) n (ukazanie)
• Danish: vejlederen c
• Finnish: opastus (fi), ohje (fi)
• German: Anweisung (de) f
• Greek: οδηγία (el) f (odigía), συμβουλή (el) f (symvoulí)
• Irish: treoir f
• Japanese: インストラクション (insutorakushon), 命令 (ja) (めいれい, meirei)
• Portuguese: instrução (pt) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Romanian: instrucțiune (ro) f, indicație (ro) f, învățătură (ro) f, îndrumare (ro) f
• Russian: инстру́кция (ru) f (instrúkcija), (usually plural) указа́ние (ru) n (ukazánije), (usually plural) предписа́ние (ru) n (predpisánije), (usually plural) распоряже́ние (ru) n (rasporjažénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: stiùireadh m, teagasg m
• Spanish: instrucción (es)
• Swedish: instruktör (sv) c

order or command

• Bulgarian: директива (bg) f (direktiva)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: aanwijzing (nl) f
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: käyttöohje (fi)
• French: instruction (fr) f
• German: Anweisung (de) f
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Swahili: agizo (sw) class 5/6

single operation of a processor

• Bulgarian: инструкция (bg) (instrukcija)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: instrukce f
• Dutch: instructie (nl) f
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: käsky (fi)
• German: Assemblerbefehl m
• Greek: εντολή (el) f (entolí)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hebrew: הוראה (he) f (Hora'ah)
• Irish: treoir f
• Italian: istruzione (it) f
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: instrução (pt) f
• Romanian: instrucțiune (ro) f
• Russian: инстру́кция (ru) f (instrúkcija)
• Swahili: agizo (sw)
• Swedish: instruktion (sv) c

set of directions provided by a manufacturer

• Bulgarian: инструкция (bg) f (instrukcija)
• Finnish: käyttöohje (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: használati utasítás (hu)
• Italian: bugiardino (it) m, istruzioni d'uso f pl, manuale d'uso m, manuale (it) m, avvertenze (it) f pl, direttive (it) f pl

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

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} instruo
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Volapük: ^{(please verify)} tid (vo)

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃s.tʁyk.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

instruction f (plural instructions)

1. instruction

Further reading

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