Etymology of the term intelligence

Summary

The term "intelligence" comes from Latin roots. It derives from the Latin nouns *intelligentia* or *intellēctus*, which stem from the verb *intelligere*, meaning to comprehend or perceive. In the Middle Ages, *intellectus* became a scholarly technical term for understanding and was used as a translation of the Greek philosophical term *nous*. In medieval scholastic thought, *nous* and *intellectus* were closely tied to metaphysical and cosmological ideas, including teleological explanations and the concept of the "active intellect" (often called "active intelligence"). Early modern philosophers later rejected this scholastic framework and preferred the English term "understanding" rather than "intellectus"/"intelligence" in their works. As a result, "intelligence" became less common in English philosophical usage, though it was later revived in more contemporary psychology, carrying some of the scholastic implications with it.

Key Points

• 1

  "Intelligence" originates from Latin *intelligentia*/*intellēctus*, from *intelligere* meaning to comprehend or perceive.

• 2

  In the Middle Ages, *intellectus* was a technical term for understanding and a translation of Greek *nous*, linked to scholastic metaphysics (including the active intellect).

• 3

  Early modern philosophers preferred "understanding" over "intellectus"/"intelligence," reducing the term’s use in English philosophy, though it later reappeared in psychology.