|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
idea
i·de·a / īˈdēə/ • n. 1. a thought or suggestion as to a possible course of action: they don't think it's a very good idea. ∎ a concept or mental impression: our menu list will give you some idea of how interesting a low-fat diet can be. ∎ an opinion or belief: nineteenth-century ideas about drinking. ∎ a feeling that something is probable or possible: he had an idea that she must feel the same. 2. (the idea) the aim or purpose: I took a job with the idea of getting some money together. 3. Philos. (in Platonic thought) an eternally existing pattern of which individual things in any class are imperfect copies. ∎ (in Kantian thought) a concept of pure reason, not empirically based in experience. PHRASES: get (or give someone) ideas inf. become (or make someone) ambitious, bigheaded, or tempted to do something against someone else's will, esp. make a sexual advance: Mac began to get ideas about turning pro. have (got) no idea inf. not know at all: she had no idea where she was going. not someone's idea of inf. not what someone regards as: it's not my idea of a happy ending. put ideas into someone's head suggest ambitions or thoughts that a person would not otherwise have had. that's an idea inf. that suggestion or proposal is worth considering. that's the idea inf. used to confirm to someone that they have understood something or they are doing something correctly: “A sort of bodyguard?” “That's the idea.” the very idea! inf. an exclamation of disapproval or disagreement. |
|
|
Cite this article
"idea." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "idea." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-idea.html "idea." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-idea.html |
|
idea
idea archetype (as in Platonic philosophy), conception, design; †form, figure; mental image, notion, XVI. — L. idea (in Platonic sense) — Gr. idéā look, form, nature, ideal form, f. *Fid- see (see WIT2).
So ideal adj. XVII, sb. XVIII. — F. idéal — late L. ideālis. Comb. form ideo-, as in ideologue XIX. — F. |
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "idea." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "idea." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-idea.html T. F. HOAD. "idea." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-idea.html |
|
Idea
Idea, a sonnet sequence by M. Drayton, first published as Ideas Mirrour in 1594, much revised and expanded, reaching its final form of 63 sonnets in 1619.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Idea." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Idea." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Idea.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Idea." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Idea.html |
|
IDEA
IDEA See INTERNATIONAL DATA ENCRYPTION ALGORITHM.
|
|
|
Cite this article
DARREL INCE. "IDEA." A Dictionary of the Internet. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DARREL INCE. "IDEA." A Dictionary of the Internet. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O12-IDEA.html DARREL INCE. "IDEA." A Dictionary of the Internet. 2001. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O12-IDEA.html |
|
idea
idea •adhere, Agadir, appear, arrear, auctioneer, austere, balladeer, bandolier, Bashkir, beer, besmear, bier, blear, bombardier, brigadier, buccaneer, cameleer, career, cashier, cavalier, chandelier, charioteer, cheer, chevalier, chiffonier, clavier, clear, Coetzee, cohere, commandeer, conventioneer, Cordelier, corsetière, Crimea, dear, deer, diarrhoea (US diarrhea), domineer, Dorothea, drear, ear, electioneer, emir, endear, engineer, fear, fleer, Freer, fusilier, gadgeteer, Galatea, gazetteer, gear, gondolier, gonorrhoea (US gonorrhea), Greer, grenadier, hear, here, Hosea, idea, interfere, Izmir, jeer, Judaea, Kashmir, Keir, kir, Korea, Lear, leer, Maria, marketeer, Medea, Meir, Melilla, mere, Mia, Mir, mishear, mountaineer, muleteer, musketeer, mutineer, near, orienteer, pamphleteer, panacea, paneer, peer, persevere, pier, Pierre, pioneer, pistoleer, privateer, profiteer, puppeteer, queer, racketeer, ratafia, rear, revere, rhea, rocketeer, Sapir, scrutineer, sear, seer, sere, severe, Shamir, shear, sheer, sincere, smear, sneer, sonneteer, souvenir, spear, sphere, steer, stere, summiteer, Tangier, tear, tier, Trier, Tyr, veer, veneer, Vere, Vermeer, vizier, volunteer, Wear, weir, we're, year, Zaïre
|
|
|
Cite this article
"idea." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "idea." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-idea.html "idea." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-idea.html |
|