First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
science
noun sci·ence \ˈsī-ən(t)s\
: knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation
: a particular area of scientific study (such as biology, physics, or chemistry) : a particular branch of science
: a subject that is formally studied in a college, university, etc.
Full Definition of SCIENCE
1
: the state of knowing : knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding
2
a : a department of systematized knowledge as an object of study <the science of theology> b : something (as a sport or technique) that may be studied or learned like systematized knowledge <have it down to a science>
3
a : knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method b : such knowledge or such a system of knowledge concerned with the physical world and its phenomena : natural science
4
: a system or method reconciling practical ends with scientific laws <cooking is both a science and an art>
5
capitalized : christian science
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Examples of SCIENCE
- The Malay tapir, the largest of the world's four tapir species, remained largely invisible to science until recently. The other three species of these odd, endearing animals all live in South America. —Anthony King, New York Times, 2 June 2009
- If there were any doubt, Golden's muckraking investigation—he is the Ida Tarbell of college admissions—reveals that almost every word uttered by representatives of the top colleges about the care and nuance and science of the much vaunted admissions process is bunk. —Michael Wolff, New York Times Book Review, 17 Sept. 2006
- Of course, there is both corporate and government-sponsored grant money available for such initiatives in science and engineering. And scientists are used to working together in laboratories. But in the humanities it was different, said the deans. —David Laurence, Association of Departments of English Bulletin, Winter 2004
- The journal Annales was started in 1929, by Bloch and Lucien Febvre, two friends conversant with the new sciences of sociology and geography, psychology and anthropology. —Stephen Kotkin, New Yorker, 29 Sept. 2003
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Origin of SCIENCE
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin scientia, from scient-, sciens having knowledge, from present participle of scire to know; perhaps akin to Sanskrit chyati he cuts off, Latin scindere to split — more at shed
Other Physics Terms
SCIENCE Defined for Kids
science
noun sci·ence \ˈsī-əns\
Definition of SCIENCE for Kids
1
: knowledge about the natural world that is based on facts learned through experiments and observation
2
: an area of study that deals with the natural world (as biology or physics)
3
: a subject that is formally studied <the science of linguistics>
4
: something that can be studied and learned <Pitching is a science.>
Word Root of SCIENCE
The Latin word scīre, meaning “to know” or “to understand,” gives us the root sci. Words from the Latin scīre have something to do with knowing or understanding. Science is the understanding of the world and how everything in it works. A person's conscience is the knowledge of right and wrong and the feeling that he or she should do right. Anything that is conscious knows what it is feeling.
Medical Dictionary
science
noun sci·ence \ˈsī-ən(t)s\
Medical Definition of SCIENCE
: knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through the scientific method and concerned with the physical world and its phenomena
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