nous

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Pronunciation

• (British) enPR: nous, IPA: /naʊs/
• (America) enPR: noo͞s, IPA: /nuːs/

Noun

nous (uncountable)

1. (philosophy) The mind or intellect, reason, both rational and emotional
   • 1900, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, On the Disastrous Spread of Aestheticism in all Classes

     I feel the will to roam, to learn

     By test, experience, nous,

     That fire is hot and ocean deep,

     And wolves carnivorous.

2. In Neoplatonism, the divine reason, regarded as first divine emanation.
3. Common sense; practical intelligence.

Related terms

• paranoia
• noesis
• noogenesis
• noology
• noosphere
• nootropic

Translations

• French: nous
• German: Nous

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