| 释义 |
▪ I. knowledge, n.|ˈnɒlɪdʒ|
Forms: (north.) 3–7 knau-, 4–7 knaw-, (5–6 knawe-); (midl. and south.) 4–5 knou-, 4– know-, (4–6 knowe-, 5–7 kno-); 3–6 -lage, (4–6 -lag, 5–6 -leage, 6 -lauge), 4–5 -lache, (4 -lach), -leche (-lech, 5 -lich(e, -lych), 5–7 (8) -lege, (5 -legge); 5 -ledge, (6–8 -ledg).
[ME. (north. dial.) knaulage, in Wyclif knowleche. The first element is identical with know n.1, and the stem of know v.; for the formation of the word and its relation to knowledge v., see Note below. The second element was presumably, as in the vb., originally -leche; but the earliest cited instances (northern, c 1300) have already -lage; lache, -leche, appear in southern Eng. late in the 14th c. The shortening of o in the first syllable is phonetically normal; cf. the 15–17th c. spelling knoledge; (ˈnəʊlɪdʒ) used by some, is merely a recent analytical pronunciation after know.]
Signification. The earliest sense goes with the original sense of knowledge v. But the word was app. soon laid hold of to supply a noun of action to know v., for which cnowunge, knowing, was in earlier use, and continued to be used in part.
I. Senses related to knowledge v. and early uses of know v.
†1.
a. Acknowledgement, confession.
b. Acknowledgement or recognition of the position or claims (of any one). Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 11193 (Cott.) To mak knaulage [Gött. knowlage, Trin. knowleche] with sum-thing Til sir august, þair ouer-king. Ibid. 12162 (Cott.) Mang barns als barn i wit yow spac, To me knaulage [Gött. knauleche, Fairf. knawlage, Trin. knowleche] nan wald ye tac. Ibid. 27355 (Cott.) For nakin scam þat he ne mak Opine knaulage of all his sak. c1375Ibid. (Fairf.), Bid him opin knawlage make & lette for na shame to shew his sake. 1491Act 7 Hen. VII, c. 18 If the..seid knowledge had never be made. 1531–2Act. 23 Hen. VIII, c. 6 §1 The maires of the Stapull..might laufully take reconisance or knowledge for dettes. a1533Ld. Berners Huon xlii. 142 To pay me for a knowlege euery yere .iiii. drams of gold. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 253 b, In knowlege of our superioritie over them.
†2. The fact of recognizing as something known, or known about, before; recognition. to take knowledge of, to recognize. Obs.
a1350Cursor M. 4817 (Gött.) To Ioseph siþen þai soght,..Coud þai of him na knaulag [Cott. kything] take. a1400Sir Perc. 1052 Now hase Percyvelle..Spokene with his emes twoo, Bot never one of thoo Took his knawlage. c1480Henryson Test. Cres. 393 Sum had na knawlege Of hir, becaus sho was sa deformait. 1579–80North Plutarch (1676) 337 Demetrius..stole away secretly, disguised in a threadbare cloak..to keep him from knowledge. 1600Holland Livy xxxiv. xx. 865 The Lacetanes, when they took knowledge of their armor and colours,..sallied out upon them. 1611Bible Acts iv. 13 They tooke knowledge of them, that they had been with Iesus.
†3. Legal cognizance; judicial investigation or inquiry. Chiefly Sc. Obs.
1398Sc. Acts Robt. III (1814) I. 211/2 Þe Justice sal tak knaulage of þe officeris how þai gowerne þaim in þair officis. 1424Sc. Acts Jas. I (1814) II. 4/2 Lele men and discret;..the quhilkis sall byde knawlege befor þe king gif þai haif done thair deuoir. 1472–3Rolls Parlt. VI. 5/1 After suche serches, enquerres, and knoweleche taken and had. 1526Tindale Acts xxv. 21 When Paul had appealed to be kept vnto the knowledge [so Coverd., Great, Rheims; Wyclif knowynge, Genev. examination, 1611 hearing, R.V. decision] off Cesar. 1600Holland Livy iv. xxvi. 156 The taking knowledge of such, as pretended to bee freed,..was put off untill the war was ended. 1732J. Louthian Form of Process Scotl. 272 And remit them and the Libel, as found relevant, to the Knowledge of an Assize.
†4. gen. Cognizance, notice: only in phr. to take knowledge of, to take cognizance or notice of, to notice, observe; in quot. 1609, to become aware of (cf. 8). Obs.
1602Shakes. Ham. ii. i. 13 Take you as 'twere some distant knowledge of him. 1609Holland Amm. Marcell. xxvii. ii. 305 When knowledge was taken with exceeding great sorrow, of this overthrow. 1611Bible Ruth. ii. 10 Why haue I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? ― Isa. lviii. 3 Wherefore haue wee afflicted our soule, and thou takest no knowledge? 1611B. Jonson Catiline iv. vi, A state's anger Should not take knowledge either of fools or women. 1623J. Robinson Let. 19 Dec. in W. Bradford Plymouth Plantation (1856) 163 So are we glad to take knowledg of it in that fullnes we doe.
II. Senses derived from the verb know, in its later uses.
* The fact or condition of knowing.
5. a. The fact of knowing a thing, state, etc., or (in general sense) a person; acquaintance; familiarity gained by experience.
a1300Cursor M. 15931 Coth petre, ‘knaulage [Gött. cnaulage, Fairf. knawlage] of him had i neuer nan’. a1350Ibid. 5061 (Gött.) Mi fadir faris wele, sir, I wat. Knaulage [Cott. knauing] of ȝoures haue I nan. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 337 Knawlage off mony statis, May quhile awailȝe full mony gatis. 1484Caxton Fables of Alfonce i, I herd of two marchaunts whiche neuer had sene eche other..but they had knowleche eche of the other by theyr lettres. 1535Coverdale 2 Chron. viii. 18 Hiram sent him shippes by his seruauntes which had knowlege of the See. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 169 The Antient Geographers..had no knowledge of these Tartars. 1771Junius Lett. liv. 281 His knowledge of human nature must be limited indeed. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. x. 67 Thus expanding my knowledge of the glaciers.
†b. absol. in phr. to grow out of (one's) knowledge: to cease to be known, to become unknown or unfamiliar. Obs.
1578Lyte Dodoens v. xliii. 167 Albeit it be nowe growen out of knowledge, yet we haue thought it good to describe the same. 1623Lisle ælfric on O. & N. Test. Pref. 6 The Hebrew it selfe..grew so out of knowledge among the people that they understood not our Saviours Eli, Eli, lammasabactani. 1722De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 199, I was grown out of everybody's knowledge. 1754Foote Knights i. (1778) 3/1 Master Timothy is almost grown out of knowledge, Sir Gregory. 1864D. G. Mitchell Sev. Stor. 33 Now, he must have grown out of my knowledge.
†6.
a. Personal acquaintance, friendship, intimacy.
b. Those with whom one is acquainted, one's acquaintances; = acquaintance 3. Obs.
1388Wyclif Luke ii. 44 Thei..souȝten hym among hise cosyns and his knouleche [1382 knowen]. 1389in Eng. Gilds (1870) 4 Þe brethren and sustren of þe bretherhede..shul euery ȝer..hold to-geder, for to norishe more knowelech and loue, a fest. c1483Caxton Dialogues 4/13 And ye mete ony That ye know Or that they be of your knoweleche [de vostre cognoissance]. 1509Bp. Fisher Fun. Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 290 She was bounteous and lyberall to euery persone of her knowlege or aquayntaunce. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. i. ii. 297, I shall desire more loue and knowledge of you.
7. Sexual intimacy. Const. of († with). Now only in carnal knowledge. (arch. and legal.)
a1425Cursor M. 11056 (Trin.) Þe ton was ȝonge mayden þon, Þe toþer had knowleche wiþ mon. c1450Merlin 17 Neuer erthely man hadde I of knowleche, wherethrough I sholde haue childe. 1540Act 32 Hen. VIII, c. 38 §2 Such mariages beyng..consummate with bodily knowlage. 1686Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 176 He was accused of having Carnall Knowledge of his Brother in Law's women Servants. 1883Wharton's Law Lex. (ed. 7) 691/1 Rape, the carnal knowledge of a woman by force against her will.
8. a. Acquaintance with a fact; perception, or certain information of, a fact or matter; state of being aware or informed; consciousness (of anything). The object is usually a proposition expressed or implied: e.g. the knowledge that a person is poor, knowledge of his poverty.
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxvi. (Nycholas) 114 He t[h]ocht to wak..for til get knawlag & to se quha It wes helpyt hyme sa. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 208 By the eeris we haue knowlech of Sovne. a1548Hall Chron., Edw. IV 200 So that this civill warre should seme to all men, to have been begon without his assent or knowledge. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Ind. iv. viii. 230 They labour in these mines in continuall darkenes and obscuritie, without knowledge of day or night. 1725Pope Odyss. ii. 185 Till big with knowledge of approaching woes The prince of augurs, Halitherses, rose. 1796Jane Austen Pride & Prej. ii, Till the evening after the visit was paid she had no knowledge of it. 1832H. Martineau Demerara ii. 16 The knowledge that he might at any hour be called upon..stimulated his studies of his duties.
b. absol. Acquaintance with facts, range of information, ken. Esp. in phrases as to one's knowledge, so far as one is aware; also, as one is aware, as one can testify (in latter sense, also, of one's k.); to come to one's knowledge, to become known to one.
1542N. Udall in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 3 To my knowlege I have not eftsons offended. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 103 According to the measure of your knowledge, and proportion of your policie. c1592Marlowe Massacre Paris i. ii, Of my knowledge, in one cloister keep Five hundred fat Franciscan friars. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 168 Who,..if ever it should come to their knowledge, that they had sold any fish. 1820Examiner No. 652. 641/2 A better paid witness..had never come to his knowledge. 1872E. Peacock Mabel Heron II. i. 17 What came to my knowledge.
c. Philos. knowledge about, knowledge by description: knowledge of a person, thing, or perception gained through information or facts about it rather than by direct experience (opp. knowledge by (or of) acquaintance, see acquaintance 1 b).
1885, etc. [see acquaintance 1 b]. 1945E. Mayo Social Probl. Industr. Civilization (1949) i. i. 15 The student is required to relate his logical knowledge-about to his own direct acquaintance with the facts. 1952B. Mayo Logic of Personality iii. 30 Knowledge about something is called knowledge by description. 1954[see acquaintance 1 b]. 1967Encycl. Philos. IV. 350/1 Parallel to this on the side of knowledge of things is the distinction between knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description. 1968A. J. Ayer Origins Pragmatism ii. iii. 293 The mind has ‘knowledge about’ an object not immediately there.
9. a. Intellectual acquaintance with, or perception of, fact or truth; clear and certain mental apprehension; the fact, state, or condition of understanding. † Formerly, also, the faculty of understanding, intelligence, intellect.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 217 God wole þat meny þinges passe þe knoweleche of man. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 212 A stronge argument to Shewe..the Sotilte of thy knowleche. 1508Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 300 Ay the fule did forȝet, for febilnes of knawlege. 1593Queen Elizabeth tr. Boeth. pr. v. 115 That is not opinion, but an included purenes of the hyest knoledge that is shut in no lymites. 1690Locke Hum. Und. iv. i. §2 Knowledge..seems to me to be nothing but the perception of the connexion and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy of any of our ideas. 1748Hartley Observ. Man ii. Introd. 1 The Infinite Power, Knowledge, and Goodness of God. 1828Whately Logic (1857) 164 note, Knowledge..implies..firm belief,..of what is true,..on sufficient grounds. 1836–7Sir W. Hamilton Metaph. (1859) I. iii. 58 Philosophical knowledge,..is thus the knowledge of effects as dependent on their causes. 1857Buckle Civiliz. I. v. 246 The knowledge on which all civilization is based, solely consists in an acquaintance with the relations which things and ideas bear to each other and to themselves. 1877E. R. Conder Bas. Faith iv. 193 Knowledge is composed of judgments: the criteria of the judgments composing it being truth and certainty.
b. Const. of (something). Also in pl. (now rare).
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. ii. ii. (1495) 27 Mannes vnderstondynge & inwytte gadreth knowlege of some thynge of the knowlege of other thynges. 1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 73 Disputing & arguing for to haue knowlech of y⊇ trouth of a thing. 1670A. Roberts Advent. T.S. 146 They do it by the Knowledges that they have of Nature. 1878Jevons Prim. Pol. Econ. iii. 31 Knowledge of nature consists, to a great extent, in understanding the causes of things.
c. with pl. A mental apprehension; a perception, intuition, or other cognition. rare.
1563Homilies ii. Rogation Week i. (1859) 470 To have a knowledge of the power and divinity of God. 1626T. H. Caussin's Holy Crt. 123 To proceed..by such knowledges, as are common, with brute beastes, and forsake those of men. 1825Coleridge Aids Refl. (1848) I. 128 It is the office..of reason, to bring a unity into all our conceptions and several knowledges. 1836–7Sir W. Hamilton Metaph. (1859) I. iii. 57 These two cognitions or knowledges have, accordingly, received different names. 1872Lowell Wks. (1890) IV. 184 With Dante wisdom is the generalization from many several knowledges of small account by themselves.
†d. Med. Diagnosis: cf. knowledge v. 5. Obs.
1541R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Chirurg. etc. N ij, Is the Cyrurgyen bounde to haue the knowledge of the blode that is drawen?.. No, but the beholdynge of the said blode belongeth to Physycyens. 1655Culpepper, etc. Riverius x. v. 292 The Knowledg in general is manifest... That Parts sending have a more difficult Diagnosis or way of Knowledg.
†e. to come to (one's own) knowledge, to recover one's understanding; to come to one's senses. Obs.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1702 Þenne he wayned hym his wyt..Þat he com to knawlach & kenned hym seluen. c1489Caxton Blanchardyn xiv. 49 Euyn at these wordes cam the prouost tyl his owne knowlege ageyne.
10. Acquaintance with a branch of learning, a language, or the like; theoretical or practical understanding of an art, science, industry, etc.; † skill in or to do something (obs.). (Rarely in plural.)
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xl. (Ninian) 130 Þane trawalit he besyli, til he in knavlage of clergy..wes wise Inuch. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 325 The King had greit knawledge the countrie to ken. 1508Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 455 Folk a cury may miscuke, that knawledge wantis. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 201 He had no greate knoweledge in the latyn tongue. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. 15 Mariners brought up in Practical Knowledge of Navigaton at Sea. a1774Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) I. 210 Nor were the ancients without a great knowledge in this art. 1782Wolcott (P. Pindar) Ode to R.A.'s iii. Wks. 1812 I. 20 With scarce more knowledges than these He earns a guinea every day with ease. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 85 A knowledge of all the medical and other sciences. 1851Illustr. Catal. Gt. Exhib. 1278 This article is..made by young women who have no knowledge of drawing.
11. In general sense: The fact or condition of being instructed, or of having information acquired by study or research; acquaintance with ascertained truths, facts, or principles; information acquired by study; learning; erudition.
1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 27 Knowlege is better than ignoraunce. 1559W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 46 Knowledge hath no enemie but ignoraunce. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. viii. 71 In gret honour for his eruditioun and knawledge. 1611Bible Eccles. i. 18 Hee that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. 1784Cowper Task vi. 96 Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; Wisdom is humble that he knows no more. 1856Ruskin Mod. Paint. III. iv. iii. §17 The highest knowledge always involves a more advanced perception of the fields of the unknown. 1870M. D. Conway Earthw. Pilgr. xviii. 220 One might say that no kind or amount of human knowledge were too much for a woman.
** The object of knowing; that which is known or made known.
†12. Information; intelligence; notice, intimation. Obs.
1417Hen. V in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 62 We remitte hem to have ful declaracion and verrai knaweleche of you in that matere. c1440Generydes 1160 Whan she hadde tideng And trew knowlage of Auferius. 1473J. Warkworth Chron. 11 He yaff knoleage to his peple that he wulde holde withe the Erle of Warwyke. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 317 He imediatly sent knowledge into the whole countrie. 1600Holland Livy xxvi. xxvi. 603 There hee published and gave knowledge, That hee would shape his course from thence for Anticyra. 1722De Foe Plague (1756) 49 Shall give knowledge thereof to the Examiner of Health.
13. The sum of what is known.
1534Starkey Let. in England (1878) p. x, I..passyd ouer in to Italy, whereas I so delytyd in the contemplacyon of natural Knolege. 1559W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 142 The proper nature of suche in whose mynde knoweledge have once builded her Boure. a1628Preston New Covt. (1634) 446 You..may have abundance of emptie and unprofitable knowledge, without Grace. 1667Milton P.L. vii. 126 Knowledge is as food, and needs no less Her Temperance over Appetite, to know In measure what the mind may well contain. 1753Johnson Adventurer No. 85 ⁋7 He is by no means to be accounted useless or idle who has stored his mind with acquired knowledge. 1823De Quincey Lett. to Young Man Wks. 1860 XIV. 58 All knowledge may be commodiously distributed into science and erudition. 1833(title) The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. 1877E. R. Conder Bas. Faith iv. 139 We speak of knowledge as stored up in books. But in reality what books contain is not knowledge, but only symbols of knowledge. Mod. Every branch of knowledge.
14. (with pl.) A branch of learning; a science; an art. (Rarely in sing.)
1581Sidney Apol. Poetrie (Arb.) 20 Poetry,..the..first nurse, whose milk by little and little enabled them to feed afterwards of tougher knowledges. 1605Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. xvii. §9 The mathematics, which are the most abstracted of knowledges. 1662J. Chandler Van. Helmont's Oriat. To Rdr., Many clear fundamental Knowledges and Arts. 1825Coleridge Aids Refl. (1848) I. Pref. 19 A land abounding with men, able in arts, learning, and knowledges manifold. 1860Marsh Eng. Lang. 28 The superior attractions and supposed claims of other knowledges.
†15. A sign or mark by which anything is known, recognized, or distinguished; a token.
1483Cath. Angl. 204/2 A knawlege, nota,..specimen, experimentum. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cclxxviii. 416 At theyr departyng they thought to make a knowledge that they had ben there; for they set the subbarbes afyre. 1555W. Watreman Fardle Facions ii. iv. 141 Thei deuised..circumcision, because thei would haue a notable knowledge betwene them and other nacions.
III. 16. attrib. and Comb., as knowledge element, knowledge power, knowledge-tree; knowledge-full, knowledge-kindled, knowledge-proof adjs.; knowledge base Computing, the underlying set of facts, assumptions, and inference rules on which a computer system operates; a store of information (as in a database) available to draw on; knowledge-based ppl. a., of an academic discipline: founded on an accumulation of facts, non-empirical; of a computer system: incorporating a set of facts, assumptions, or inference rules derived from human knowledge; knowledge-box, -casket, humorous names for the head; knowledge factory, term applied pejoratively to a university or college, etc., which places undue emphasis on vocational training; knowledge industry, term applied fancifully or pejoratively to the development and use of knowledge, spec. in universities, polytechnics, etc.
1971Symp. über Computer Graphics (Berlin) 1 Steps toward this goal are being made within a particular context—architecture—that furnishes a ‘*knowledge base’ or ‘assumption base’ from which programs can procure..those heuristics necessary to handle two dimensional and three dimensional ambiguities. 1986Times Higher Educ. Suppl. 13 June (Journals Suppl.) p. vii/2 He sees the explosion in knowledge gathering, based on computer storage and retrieval, as providing a knowledge base for teachers. 1986Financial Times 16 Oct. (Information Technol. Surv.) p. x/2 Once a way is found to represent the knowledge, it is no problem to add extra rules to the knowledge base.
1970C. A. Myers Computers in Knowledge-Based Fields i. 8 Education is clearly the leading *knowledge-based industry. 1975IEEE Trans. Software Engin. I. 26/1 The planner project is constructing a programming apprentice to assist in knowledge based programming. 1980Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts Feb. 151/2 Management education..has inevitably become much more knowledge-based. 1983Austral. Microcomputer Mag. Dec. 69/7 Computers based on the 16-bit Motorola 6800 microprocessor were adequate for knowledge-based systems.
1796Mod. Gulliver's Trav. 194 His head being differently formed to that of others, by producing what had been his *knowledge-box, my word could not be doubted. 1874Burnand My time v. 42 With all these odds and ends, my knowledge-box was fairly stored.
1879Bain Education as a Science xii. 402 The work of teaching *knowledge elements.
1928World's Work May 55 Next day we visited the *knowledge factory, and..the head teacher asked if I had ever been sent to school. 1968Listener 4 July 6/2 Some students who rioted on British campuses (like some in France and Italy) have been protesting at having found themselves in a knowledge factory when they thought they were headed for something else. They find themselves being trained for the managerial and technocratic élites, whereas what they demand is the right to question the structure of society which makes such élites necessary. 1969C. Davidson in Cockburn & Blackburn Student Power 341 The production of an increase in socially useful and necessary labour power is the new historic function of our educational institutions that enables us to name them, quite accurately, knowledge factories.
1879St. George's Hosp. Rep. IX. 793 In his concise but *knowledge-full work on the pathology of the ear.
1962F. Machlup Production & Distribution of Knowledge in U.S. iii. 45 If the phrase ‘*knowledge industry’ were to be given an unambiguous meaning, would it be a collection of industries producing knowledge or rather a collection of occupations producing knowledge in whatever industries they are employed. 1963C. Kerr Uses of University iii. 87 Basic to this transformation is the growth of the ‘knowledge industry’, which is coming to permeate government and business. 1968Economist 28 Feb. 51/3 This is a book for the serious investor who..wants to learn something about the operations of the New York Stock Exchange and the ‘knowledge industry’, with its analysts, theorists..and numerous other ‘ists’. 1970Globe & Mail (Toronto) 25 Sept. B2/2 The report notes the emergence of the knowledge industry, growing emphasis on people values.
1886Lowell Wks. (1890) VI. 150 There are some pupils who are *knowledge-proof.
1598Rowlands Poems on Passion, Christ to Wom. Jerus., Life's arbour next, which grace did fill; And *knowledge-tree of good and ill. [Note. The origin of knowledge n. and vb. and the question of the original relations between the n. and vb. themselves, are a difficult problem. According to the extant evidence, the vb. is exemplified nearly a century before the n., and is found only in southern Eng., with a form in -lechien, -leche, while the n., when it appears c 1300, is found only in northern dialect, and has its earliest form in -lage. Thus the northern MSS. of Cursor Mundi have numerous examples of the n.—the earliest known,—but do not use the vb. Late in the 14th c., the n. is found in midl. and south. (first in Wyclif, a northern man), with the forms -lache, -leche; in the 15th c. the vb. appears sparingly in the north, with the form -lage, -lege. If the n. were at first only northern, the want of earlier examples may be explained by there being no northern literature of the 12th and the early 13th c.; but this does not account for the app. absence of the n. from southern literature before Wyclif, and leaves the early relations between the vb. and n. very perplexing. It can hardly be doubted, in view of the earliest sense of both, that they have a common origin; but what this was it is not easy to determine. The n. has no parallel in Eng., nor app. in any Teutonic lang. Some have thought it related to ONorse derivative ns. in -leik-r ‘play, exercise, action’, e.g kunnleik-r knowledge. The OE. cognate ending was -lác, as in wedlác wedlock; but neither the ON. nor OE. form could have given an early ME. -leche; this would have required an OE. -lǽce, of which there is no trace. If, on the other hand, we start from the vb. i)cnawlechien, there are difficulties in explaining the formation of this also. It has been proposed to associate it with OE. verbs in -lǽc(e)an, pa. tense -lǽhte, a few of which came down into early ME. in -lêchen, -lêhte. In OE. these usually go with derivative adjs. in -líc (from an adj. or n.), to which they are supposed to stand somehow in ablaut relation; e.g. cúðlic friendly, cúðlǽcan be friendly with, to treat like a friend, efenlíc equal, efenlǽcan to make equal, imitate, néahlíc near, néahlǽcan to draw nigh, approach, rihtlic right, correct, ᵹe)rihtlǽcan to make right, correct, sumorlic summerlike, sumorlǽcan to draw near to summer, winterlíc winterly, winterlǽcan to draw near to winter, etc. Here the radical part is an adj. or n. If now early ME. cnaw, know n.1, ‘acknowledgement, confession’, went back to an OE. ᵹecnáw, it is possible that, either immediately by analogy, or through an adj. *ᵹecnáwlíc = ᵹecnæwe ‘conscious of, acknowledging’, there was formed a derivative vb. *ᵹecnáwlǽcan ‘to become conscious of, make acknowledgement or confession of’, which would give an early ME. *i-cnawlechen, -lehte. True, these are not the ME. forms actually found; but some variation in the formation of these verbs appears in the instances cited by Sievers (Ags. Gram., ed. 3, §407, Ann. 17, 18), including a pa. pple. ᵹerihtlǽced, in the West Saxon Past. Care, beside ᵹerihtlǽht, while the Rushw. copy of the Lindisfarne Gloss shows, for néahlǽcan, a form neoliciᵹa, pa. tense néolicade, néalocode, pa. pple. ᵹinéolicad; so that, perhaps, the early ME. i)cnawlechien, i-cnoulechien, -lechede, may be taken as having this origin. If this was so, the verb to knowledge was first formed, and the n. was derived from it, which would also agree with the extant historical data for the two words, and account for the original sense of the n.]
▸ Brit. slang. Freq. with capital initial and with the. In early use more fully as the knowledge of London. A knowledge of streets, buildings, and routes in London on which a prospective taxi driver is examined in order to be granted a licence for a black cab (or, formerly, a hackney carriage). Also in to do the knowledge: (of a prospective taxi driver) to undertake the learning of the street layout, routes, etc., or the associated examination, in order to gain a licence.
1869Jrnl. Soc. Arts 11 June 581/1 The examination as to the driver's knowledge of town..was a great obstacle to many men, for the oldest driver in London might be completely puzzled when examined in that way. 1911Rep. Comm. on Taxi-cab Fares II. 16/1 in Parl. Papers ((Cd. 5875)) XLI. 578/1 Do..you have..difficulty in getting sufficient licensed drivers to take all your cabs out?—We have men, but we cannot get them through the knowledge of London test. 1936Cabman's Punch Apr. 1/2 Can't you picture that unemployed man borrowing the money and then sticking desperately at the ‘Knowledge’, week after week, month after month, urged on..by the ever-present hope that perhaps he will ‘pass’ next week. 1969M. R. Green Taxi Driver's London 13 Very few people realise just how much time and effort is spent by the apprentice cabby to gain his ‘knowledge’ of London. 1979Daily Tel. 15 June 8/5 You spend all that time doing the knowledge, and then you can't earn a living without doing a 16-hour day. 1983R. Rendell Speaker of Mandarin xi. 127 Donaldson..had thought of being a London taxi driver and had gone so far as to ride round on a bicycle to acquire the ‘Knowledge’. 2005T. Hall Salaam Brick Lane viii. 180 He was a local Bangladeshi East Ender who had studied the Knowledge, but failed as a taxi driver because he suffered from road rage.
▸ knowledge boy n. Brit. slang a prospective London taxi driver who is ‘doing the knowledge’ in order to gain a licence for a black cab (see knowledge n.).
1988Times 20 Dec. 3/3 An investigation into what makes a ‘*Knowledge Boy’, as a black-cab trainee is known, also adds new insight into the effects of the stress of driving a London taxi. 2007National Post (Toronto) (Nexis) 5 May No wonder it takes the average ‘Knowledge boy’, as the students who scoot around town on mopeds studying maps are known, four years to become an All-London taxi driver.
▸ knowledge economy n. Econ. and Business an economy in which growth is thought to be dependent on the effective acquisition, dissemination, and use of information, rather than the traditional means of production (cf. knowledge management n. at Additions).
1967T. J. Watson in Sat. Rev. 14 Jan. 95/1 From an industrial economy,..we shall..more and more become..a *knowledge economy, with 50 per cent or more of our work force involved in the production of information. 1984W. V. Ruch Corporate Communications xv. 242 The basis for the knowledge economy is computerization instead of mechanization. 2005N.Y. Times Mag. 9 Jan. 40/2 This is the fight over intellectual property and the related investments essential to the knowledge economy, that amorphously defined new world in which better ideas, not faster, cheaper hands create jobs and wealth.
▸ knowledge management n. Econ. and Business the effective management of the sharing and retention of information in an organization; the use of management techniques to optimize the acquisition, dissemination, and use of knowledge.
1971D. Smith in E. Hopper Readings in Theory Educ. Syst. vii. 139 (heading) Selection and *knowledge management in education systems. 1974Public Admin. Rev. 34 189/2 Knowledge has assumed a new importance in public policy making in the United States... Current knowledge management policies are inadequate. 2002J. Cardeñosa in A. Kent Encycl. Libr. & Information Sci. LXX. 224 For the last few years, knowledge management has been the key factor in organizational productivity increase.
▸ knowledge work n. work which involves handling or using information.
1959P. F. Drucker Landmarks of Tomorrow v. 122 Today the majority of the personnel employed even in manufacturing industries..are..people doing *knowledge work, however unskilled. 2001Independent 1 May (Tuesday Review section) 4/4 According to the Institute for Employment Studies, ‘knowledge work’ is forecast to increase its share of work distribution.
▸ knowledge worker n. a person whose job involves handling or using information (cf. knowledge work n. at Additions).
1962P. F. Drucker in N.Y. Times Mag. 21 Jan. 66/3 The United States of 1980 will be..a society of ‘*knowledge workers’, rather than manual workers. 2003Sydney Morning Herald 18–19 Jan. (Spectrum section) 7/4 It is the minds of the knowledge workers that are tired after a day's slogging away at solving problems, not their bodies.
▪ II. † ˈknowledge, v. Obs.
Forms: 3 cnaw-, cnou-, (5 cnow-), 3–5 (6) knou-, (4 kneu-, 5 knew(e-), 3–7 know-, (4–5 (6) knowe-, 5–6 kno-; north. 5–7 knaw-, (5 kna-); 3 -lechi(en, 3–5 -leche(n, (4–5 -lech, -lich(e, -lych(e, -lach(e), 5–6 -lege, (5 -legh, 6 -lage), 6–7 -ledge, (6 -ledg).
[Early ME. cnawlechien, in 14th c. knowleche(n, prob. f. cnaw, know n.1, and ultimately from cnáw-an, know-en, to know, with a second element of obscure origin: see note to prec. A single example of i-cnoulechien in same sense, from ᵹecnáw-, i-know-, is known in the 13th c. Northern instances of the vb. are unknown before the 15th c., and are rare at all times. The unstressed ending -leche, became by 1400 -lege, whence the later -ledge. (Cf. Grinnidge = Greenwich, Swanage from Swanewíc, Swanwich.) See also the n.]
1. trans. To own the knowledge of; to confess; to recognize or admit as true: = acknowledge v. 1.
c1230Hali Meid. 9 Ȝif ha..cnawlecheð soð; Ich habbe ham to witnesse ha lickeð huni of þornes. a1240Lofsong in Cott. Hom. 205 Al þis ich i-cnoulechie þe. a1380St. Ambrose 672 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 18 Þus þis gode mon..Knouleched þat al þat was his Was pore mennes at heore nede. 1428Surtees Misc. (1888) 5 He knawleged and graunted his trespas. 1438Waterf. Arch. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 330 John Franches..didd knolech hym to ow to William Lyncoll..x. li. of money currant. 1439Sc. Acts Jas. II, c. 3 (1814) 54 (Jam.) The said princess..knawlegis that quhat thing the said personis did,..thai dide it of gude zele and motife. c1440Partonope 3522, I knowlech a traytoure am I. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 37 Thanne she knowleged her misdede. 1483Cath. Angl. 205/1 To knawlege, fateri, confiteri [etc.]. 1537Act 28 Hen. VIII in Bolton Stat. Irel. (1621) 129 Them that..doe professe and knowledge Christs religion. 1551Robinson tr. More's Utop. Transl. Ep. (1895) 18 Knowing, and knowledging the barbarous rudenes of my translation. 1582Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 48 My flight from prison I knowledge. [1660Stillingfl. Iren. ii. viii. §2 The Cleregie..did knowledge and confesse according to the truth, that the Convocations of the same Cleregie hath ben and ought to be assembled by the Kings writt.]
b. absol. or intr. To make confession or acknowledgement; to confess. Const. to (a fault, etc.).
1382Wyclif John i. 20 And he knowelechide, and denyede not, and he knowlechide, For I am not Crist. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. viii. 148 For dedes þat we han don ille, dampned sholde we be neuere Yff we knewelechid and cryde crist þer of mercy. a1450Myrc 916 When thow herest what thow hast do, Knowlache wel a-non ther to. 1526Tindale Rom. x. 10 To knowledge with the mougth maketh a man safe.
†c. intr. with to (in biblical versions): To give thanks to, to praise. Obs.
A literal rendering of L. confitērī of Vulg., repr. Heb. yōdāh, Gr. ἐξοµολογεῖσθαι.
1382Wyclif Gen. xxix. 35 She conseuyde, and bare a sone, and seith, Now I shal knowlech [Cov. geue thankes] to the Lord. ― Ps. xli[i]. 12 Hope I in god, for ȝit shal knoulechen to hym. ― Matt. xi. 25, I knowleche to thee, fadir..for thou hast hid these thingis fro wijse [men] and ware and hast shewid hem to litil men.1535Coverdale Rom. xiv. 11 All tunges shal knowlege vnto God [Wyclif Ech tunge schal knowleche to God].
2. trans. To recognize or confess (a person or thing to be something);
a. with compl.
b. simply: To recognize (one) to be what he claims; to own the claims or authority of: = acknowledge 2.
a1225Leg. Kath. 1352 Her we cnawlecheð him soð godd, and godes sune. a1300Body & Soul in Map's Poems (Camden) 335 That thouȝ woldest God knouleche. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xii. 193 He..knewleched hym gulty. 1382Wyclif Luke xii. 8 Ech man which euer schal knowleche me byfore men,..mannis sone schal knowleche him bifore þe aungelis of God. c1450Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 138 Knowlyche thiself ffor a cockewold. 1535Goodly Primer (1834) 82 They knowledge thee to be the Father of an infinite majesty. 1582Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 89 A Greeke my self I doe knowledge. 1631Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 113 Knowledging, and affirming..the same Bishop to be supreme. 1643Prynne Sov. Power Parlt. App. 28 Charles dying, his sonne Charles the eight, was..reputed and knowledged King.
3. To own as genuine, or of legal force or validity; to own, avow, or assent in legal form to (an act, document, etc.), so as to give it validity: = acknowledge v. 3.
1531–2Act 23 Hen. VIII, c. 6 §1 The cognisor ne the cognisee, that did knowledge and take the same reconisances. 1581Lambarde Eiren. ii. iii. (1588) 136 Assaults..do draw after them the forfaiture of a Recognusance, knowledged for the keeping of the Peace. 1594West 2nd Pt. Symbol., The said L. M. his heires and assignes shall..do, make, knowledge, and suffer, or cause to be made, knowledged and suffered al and everie act and acts [etc.]. 1797Burn's Eccl. Law (ed. 6) III. 204 If any ecclesiastical person knowledge a statute merchant or statute staple, or a recognizance in the nature of a statute staple.
4. refl. To make oneself known to, or bring oneself into acquaintance with a person.
b. intr. To have carnal knowledge with.
c1375Cursor M. 11056 (Fairf.) The tone was yong maidyn þan The tothir had knowlechid with man [Trin. had knowleche wiþ mon]. a1425Ibid. 3838 (Trin.) Iacob..knowleched him [Cott. kythed him, Gött. knew him] þere wiþ rachel.
5. trans. To recognize; in Med. to recognize and identify (a disease), to diagnose.
1541R. Copland Galyen's Terap. 2 C iij, It is leful y⊇ moste often to knowlege the dysease at the begynnynge, and it is necessary that the indication be taken of the sayd dysease. a1618Sylvester Mayden's Blush 442 Vouchsafe mee,..As in a glasse to see and knowledge Him.
6. To take legal cognizance of (a cause, etc.).
1609Skene Reg. Maj. 105 (Form Baron Courts c. 15) Gif it [the judgement] be againe said in the Schiref Court, it sould be knawledged in the justice Court.
Hence † ˈknowledged ppl. a., known, acknowledged.
c1450Bp. Grossetest's Househ. Stat. in Babees Bk. 330 That they admitte youre knowlechyd men, familiers frendys, and strangers. |