different between idea vs conjecture

English

Etymology

From Latin idea (“a (Platonic) idea; archetype”), from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from ???? (eíd?, “I see”). Cognate with French idée. Doublet of idée.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /a??d??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /a??di.?/
• (US, intrusive r) IPA^(key): /a??d??/
• (General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /?e?di??/
• Rhymes: -??, -i??
• Hyphenation: i?dea, i?de?a

Noun

idea (plural ideas or (rare) ideæ)

1. (philosophy) An abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect approximations; pure essence, as opposed to actual examples. [from 14th c.]
2. (obsolete) The conception of someone or something as representing a perfect example; an ideal. [16th-19th c.]
3. (obsolete) The form or shape of something; a quintessential aspect or characteristic. [16th-18th c.]
4. An image of an object that is formed in the mind or recalled by the memory. [from 16th c.]

5. More generally, any result of mental activity; a thought, a notion; a way of thinking. [from 17th c.]
   • 1952, Alfred Whitney Griswold

     Ideas won't go to jail.

6. A conception in the mind of something to be done; a plan for doing something, an intention. [from 17th c.]

7. A purposeful aim or goal; intent
8. A vague or fanciful notion; a feeling or hunch; an impression. [from 17th c.]

9. (music) A musical theme or melodic subject. [from 18th c.]

Synonyms

• (mental transcript, image, or picture): image

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• ? Japanese: ????? (aidia), ???? (aidea)

Translations

Further reading

• idea in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• idea in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Adie, aide, daie

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from ???? (eíd?, “I see”).

Noun

idea f (plural idees)

1. idea

Related terms

• ideal

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from ???? (eíd?, “I see”).

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /i?d?.?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /i?d?.a/

Noun

idea f (plural idees)

1. idea (clarification of this definition is needed)

Related terms

• ideal
• idear

Further reading

• “idea” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “idea” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “idea” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “idea” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Czech

Etymology

From Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa), from ???? (eíd?).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?a/

Noun

idea f

1. idea (that which exists in the mind as the result of mental activity)

Related terms

• ideace
• idealizace
• idealizovaný
• idealizovat
• ideolog
• ideologický
• ideologie
• ideový
• ideál
• idealista
• idealismus
• ideozlo?in

Further reading

• idea in P?íru?ní slovník jazyka ?eského, 1935–1957
• idea in Slovník spisovného jazyka ?eského, 1960–1971, 1989

Finnish

Etymology

From Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa, “notion, pattern”).

Noun

idea

1. idea

Declension

Synonyms

• ajatus

Galician

Etymology

From Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from ???? (eíd?, “I see”).

Noun

idea f (plural ideas)

1. idea

Related terms

• ideal

Hungarian

Etymology

From Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa, “notion, pattern”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?id??]
• Hyphenation: idea
• Rhymes: -?

Noun

idea (plural ideák)

1. idea

Declension

References

Interlingua

Noun

idea (plural ideas)

1. idea

Italian

Etymology 1

From Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from ???? (eíd?, “I see”).

Noun

idea f (plural idee)

1. idea

Related terms

• ideale
• ideare
• ideazione
• ideo-

Etymology 2

Verb

idea

1. third-person singular present of ideare
2. second-person singular imperative of ideare

Anagrams

• aedi

Further reading

• idea in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ???? (idéa, “notion, pattern”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?i.de.a/, [??d?eä]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?i.de.a/, [?i?d???]

Noun

idea f (genitive ideae); first declension

1. idea
   • 1719, Johann Jakob Brucker:

     Tentamen Introductionis in Historiam Doctrinae Logicae de Ideis

     An Essay Introducing the History of the Logical Doctrine of Ideas

2. prototype (Platonic)

Declension

First-declension noun.

Descendants

References

• idea in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• idea in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)

Malay

Etymology

From English idea, from Latin idea (“a (Platonic) idea; archetype”), from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from ???? (eíd?, “I see”).

Noun

idea (plural idea-idea, informal 1st possessive ideaku, impolite 2nd possessive ideamu, 3rd possessive ideanya)

1. idea.

Alternative forms

• ide (Indonesia, Timor-Leste)

Maltese

Etymology

From Italian idea, from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??d??.a/, /??d??.ja/
• Homophone: idejha (one pronunciation)

Noun

idea f (plural ideat)

1. idea

Northern Sami

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Noun

idea

1. idea

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

• Koponen, Eino; Ruppel, Klaas; Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002-2008) Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages?^[1], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

Polish

Etymology

From Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa), from ???? (eíd?).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i?d?.a/

Noun

idea f (diminutive idejka)

1. idea (image of an object that is formed in the mind or recalled by the memory)

   Synonym: pomys?

2. (philosophy) idea (abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect)
3. keynote, mission statement

Declension

Derived terms

• (adjective) ideowy

Related terms

• (nouns) ideowiec, ideowo??
• (adverb) ideowo

Further reading

• idea in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• idea in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

From Italian ideare.

Verb

a idea (third-person singular present ideeaz?, past participle ideat) 1st conj.

1. to invent, to conceive

Conjugation

Slovak

Etymology

From Latin idea (“a (Platonic) idea; archetype”), from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from ???? (eíd?, “I see”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?id?a/

Noun

idea f (genitive singular idey, nominative plural idey, genitive plural ideí, declension pattern of idea)

1. idea (that which exists in the mind as the result of mental activity)

Declension

Related terms

• ideológ m
• ideologický m
• ideológia f
• ideový m
• ideál m
• idealista m
• idealistický m
• idealizácia f
• idealizmus m

Further reading

• idea in Slovak dictionaries at korpus.sk

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i?dea/, [i?ð?e.a]

Etymology 1

From Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ???? (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from ???? (eíd?, “to see”). Compare Portuguese ideia.

Noun

idea f (plural ideas)

1. idea

Derived terms

Related terms

• ideal
• idear

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

idea

1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of idear.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of idear.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of idear.

Further reading

• “idea” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Etymology

From Old French, from Latin coniect?ra (“a guess”), from coniectus, perfect passive participle of c?nici? (“throw or cast together; guess”), from con- (“together”) + iaci? (“throw, hurl”); see jet. Compare adjective, eject, inject, project, reject, subject, object, trajectory.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /k?n?d???k.t???(?)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /k?n?d???k.t???/

Noun

conjecture (countable and uncountable, plural conjectures)

1. (formal) A statement or an idea which is unproven, but is thought to be true; a guess.

   I explained it, but it is pure conjecture whether he understood, or not.

2. (formal) A supposition based upon incomplete evidence; a hypothesis.

   The physicist used his conjecture about subatomic particles to design an experiment.

3. (mathematics, linguistics) A statement likely to be true based on available evidence, but which has not been formally proven.
4. (obsolete) Interpretation of signs and omens.

Synonyms

• halseny
• See also Thesaurus:supposition

Related terms

• conject
• conjectural

Translations

Verb

conjecture (third-person singular simple present conjectures, present participle conjecturing, simple past and past participle conjectured)

1. (formal, intransitive) To guess; to venture an unproven idea.

   I do not know if it is true; I am simply conjecturing here.

2. (transitive) To infer on slight evidence; to guess at.
   • February 22, 1685, Robert South, All Contingences under the Direction of God's Providence (sermon preached at Westminster Abbey)

     Human reason can then, at the best, but conjecture what will be.

Translations

Further reading

• conjecture in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “conjecture”, in Online Etymology Dictionary
• conjecture in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin coniect?ra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??.??k.ty?/

Noun

conjecture f (plural conjectures)

1. conjecture

Usage notes

Not to be confused with conjoncture.

Verb

conjecture

1. first-person singular present indicative of conjecturer
2. third-person singular present indicative of conjecturer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of conjecturer
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of conjecturer
5. second-person singular imperative of conjecturer

Further reading

• “conjecture” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Participle

conject?re

1. vocative masculine singular of conject?rus

Portuguese

Verb

conjecture

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of conjecturar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of conjecturar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of conjecturar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of conjecturar