science

English Online Dictionary. What means science‎? What does science mean?

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English science, scyence, borrowed from Old French science, escience, from Latin scientia (“knowledge”), from sciens, the present participle stem of scire (“to know”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsaɪ.əns/, enPR: sīʹ-əns
• Hyphenation: sci‧ence
• Rhymes: -aɪəns

Noun

science (countable and uncountable, plural sciences)

1. (countable) A particular discipline or branch of knowledge that is natural, measurable or consisting of systematic principles rather than intuition or technical skill. [from 14th c.]

2. Specifically the natural sciences.

3. (uncountable, archaic) Knowledge gained through study or practice; mastery of a particular discipline or area. [from 14th c.]
4. (now only theology) The fact of knowing something; knowledge or understanding of a truth. [from 14th c.]
6. (uncountable) The collective discipline of study or learning acquired through the scientific method; the sum of knowledge gained from such methods and discipline. [from 18th c.]
   • 1951 January 1, Albert Einstein, letter to Maurice Solovine, as published in Letters to Solovine (1993)

     I have found no better expression than "religious" for confidence in the rational nature of reality […] Whenever this feeling is absent, science degenerates into uninspired empiricism.
7. (uncountable) Knowledge derived from scientific disciplines, scientific method, or any systematic effort.
8. (uncountable, collective) The scientific community.
9. (euphemistic, with definite article) Synonym of sweet science (“the sport of boxing”)

Usage notes

Since the middle of the 20th century, the term science is normally used to indicate the natural sciences (e.g., chemistry), the social sciences (e.g., sociology), and the formal sciences (e.g., mathematics). In the 18th and 19th centuries, the term was broader and encompassed scholarly study of theology, the humanities (e.g., grammar) and the arts (e.g., music).

Synonyms

• sci
• sci.

Hyponyms

Coordinate terms

• art

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• → Ido: cienco
• → Japanese: サイエンス
• → Malay: sains
  • → Indonesian: sains
• → Swahili: sayansi
• → Urdu: سائِنْس (sāins)

Translations

See also

• science on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Verb

science (third-person singular simple present sciences, present participle sciencing, simple past and past participle scienced)

1. (transitive, dated) To cause to become versed in science; to make skilled; to instruct.
2. (transitive, colloquial, humorous) To use science to solve a problem.

Etymology 2

See scion.

Noun

science

1. Obsolete spelling of scion.

Further reading

• science on Wikiquote.Wikiquote
• "science" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 276.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French science, from Old French science, borrowed from Latin scientia, from sciēns + -ia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sjɑ̃s/
• Rhymes: -ɑ̃s
• Homophone: sciences

Noun

science f (plural sciences)

1. science (field of study, etc.)
2. (literary or archaic) knowledge

   Synonyms: connaissance, savoir

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• ⇒ Haitian Creole: syans
• → Ido: cienco
• → Khmer: ស្យង់ (syɑng)

References

Further reading

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

Middle English

Alternative forms

• scyence, syens, sciens, sciense, sience

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French science, borrowed from Latin scientia, from sciēns + -ia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /siːˈɛns(ə)/, /siˈɛns(ə)/

Noun

science (plural sciences)

1. facts, knowledge; that which is known:
   1. A science; the body of knowledge composing a specific discipline.
   2. learnt knowledge, especially from written sources.
   3. applied or situational knowledge.
   4. truth, reality, verified information.
2. One's faculty of finding information; knowing or insight
3. One's faculty of making sound decisions; sagaciousness.
4. One's aptitude or learning; one's knowledge (in a field).
5. A non-learned discipline, pursuit, or field.
6. (rare) verifiability; trust in knowledge.

Descendants

• > English: science (inherited) (see there for further descendants)
• Scots: science

References

• “scī̆ence, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-24.

Middle French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French science, borrowed from Latin scientia, from sciēns + -ia.

Noun

science f (plural sciences)

1. science (field of study, etc.)
2. knowledge

Descendants

• French: science (see there for further descendants)

Old French

Alternative forms

• escience

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin scientia, from sciēns + -ia.

Noun

science oblique singular, f (nominative singular science)

1. knowledge; wisdom

Descendants

• → Middle English: science, scyence, syens, sciens, sciense, sience
  • > English: science (inherited) (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: science
• Middle French: science
  • French: science (see there for further descendants)
• Norman: scienche