idea

A1 Topic:Mind & Cognition

Also spelled i-de-a

US [ɑjˈdɪː(‿ɹ)] UK /aɪ̯ˈdɪə̯/ See IPA manual

Freq #285

Meanings

1

noun
A thought or suggestion about what to do.

I have an idea about how we could escape.
2

noun
An opinion or belief about something.

They have the idea that we don't like them.
3

noun
An understanding or impression of something.

Do you have any idea what time it is?

Thesaurus

Synonyms

image

Word family

Forms ideas

Derived forms counterideaidea'dideaedideafulideagenousideahoodidealessideamongerideascapeideathonlife-ideamemory-idea

Related forms ideal idealism idealist ideality idealizeideateideatumideocracyideologueideology

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.

*weyd- Proto-Indo-European ἰδέα Ancient Greek

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# idea

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** [ɑjˈdɪː(‿ɹ)]
**IPA (UK):** /aɪ̯ˈdɪə̯/
**Frequency rank:** 285

## Meanings
1. A thought or suggestion about what to do.
2. An opinion or belief about something.
3. An understanding or impression of something.

## Examples
- I have an idea about how we could escape.
- They have the idea that we don't like them.
- Do you have any idea what time it is?

## Synonyms
- image

## Derived Forms
- counteridea
- idea'd
- ideaed
- ideaful
- ideagenous
- ideahood
- idealess
- ideamonger
- ideascape
- ideathon
- life-idea
- memory-idea

## Related Forms
- ideal
- idealism
- idealist
- ideality
- idealize
- ideate
- ideatum
- ideocracy
- ideologue
- ideology

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *weyd-
- Root: ἰδέα

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Idea is 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. The historical chain runs through Proto-Indo-European *weyd-, Ancient Greek ῐ̓δεῖν (ĭdeîn), Ancient Greek ῐ̓δέᾱ (ĭdéā), Latin idea, and English idea. In current use, the main senses are “A thought or suggestion about what to do” and “An opinion or belief about something”.

## Topics
- Mind & Cognition
- Abstract Ideas

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idea

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