What is "wisdom"

Wisdom \Wis"dom\ (-d[u^]m), n. [AS. w[imac]sd[=o]m. See Wise, a., and -dom.]

1. The quality of being wise; knowledge, and the capacity to make due use of it; knowledge of the best ends and the best means; discernment and judgment; discretion; sagacity; skill; dexterity.

   We speak also not in wise words of man's wisdom, but in the doctrine of the spirit.
   --Wyclif (1 Cor. ii. 13).

   Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
   --Job xxviii. 28.

   It is hoped that our rulers will act with dignity and wisdom that they will yield everything to reason, and refuse everything to force.
   --Ames.

   Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
   --Coleridge.

2. The results of wise judgments; scientific or practical truth; acquired knowledge; erudition. Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. --Acts vii. 22. Syn: Prudence; knowledge. Usage: Wisdom, Prudence, Knowledge. Wisdom has been defined to be ``the use of the best means for attaining the best ends.'' ``We conceive,'' says Whewell, `` prudence as the virtue by which we select right means for given ends, while wisdom implies the selection of right ends as well as of right means.'' Hence, wisdom implies the union of high mental and moral excellence. Prudence (that is, providence, or forecast) is of a more negative character; it rather consists in avoiding danger than in taking decisive measures for the accomplishment of an object. Sir Robert Walpole was in many respects a prudent statesman, but he was far from being a wise one. Burke has said that prudence, when carried too far, degenerates into a ``reptile virtue,'' which is the more dangerous for its plausible appearance. Knowledge, a more comprehensive term, signifies the simple apprehension of facts or relations. ``In strictness of language,'' says Paley, `` there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom; wisdom always supposing action, and action directed by it.'' Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, Have ofttimes no connection. Knowledge dwells In heads replete with thoughts of other men; Wisdom, in minds attentive to their own. Knowledge, a rude, unprofitable mass, The mere materials with which wisdom builds, Till smoothed, and squared, and fitted to its place, Does but encumber whom it seems to enrich. Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; Wisdom is humble that he knows no more. --Cowper. Wisdom tooth, the last, or back, tooth of the full set on each half of each jaw in man; -- familiarly so called, because appearing comparatively late, after the person may be supposed to have arrived at the age of wisdom. See the Note under Tooth,

Old English wisdom "knowledge, learning, experience," from wis (see wise (adj.)) + -dom. A common Germanic compound (Old Saxon, Old Frisian wisdom, Old Norse visdomr, Old High German wistuom "wisdom," German Weistum "judicial sentence serving as a precedent"). Wisdom teeth so called from 1848 (earlier teeth of wisdom, 1660s), a loan-translation of Latin dentes sapientiae, itself a loan-translation of Greek sophronisteres (used by Hippocrates, from sophron "prudent, self-controlled"), so called because they usually appear ages 17-25, when a person reaches adulthood.

n. 1 (context uncountable English) An element of personal character that enables one to distinguish the wise from the unwise. 2 (context countable English) A piece of wise advice. 3 The discretionary use of knowledge for the greatest good. 4 The ability to apply relevant knowledge in an insightful way, especially to different situations from that in which the knowledge was gained. 5 The ability to make a decision based on the combination of knowledge, experience, and intuitive understanding. 6 (context theology English) The ability to know and apply spiritual truths.

1. n. accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment

2. the trait of utilizing knowledge and experience with common sense and insight [syn: wiseness] [ant: folly]

3. ability to apply knowledge or experience or understanding or common sense and insight [syn: sapience]

4. the quality of being prudent and sensible [syn: wiseness, soundness]

5. an Apocryphal book consisting mainly of a meditation on wisdom; although ascribed to Solomon it was probably written in the first century BC [syn: Wisdom of Solomon]

Wisdom is a 1986 American romantic crime film written and directed by its star Emilio Estevez in his filmmaking debut. The film also stars Demi Moore, along with Tom Skeritt and Veronica Cartwright as Estevez's parents. The end credits song is "Home Again" by Oingo Boingo and the score by Danny Elfman.

"Wisdom" was the third single released by David Gray, released on 5 July 1993, and taken from his debut album A Century Ends. The single and its B-sides were later included on the 2001 compilation The EPs 1992–1994.

Wisdom is 16 Volt's debut album, which was released in 1993 under the Re-constriction label.

Wisdom or sapience is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight. Wisdom has been regarded as one of four cardinal virtues; and as a virtue, it is a habit or disposition to perform the action with the highest degree of adequacy under any given circumstance with the limitation of error in any given action. This implies a possession of knowledge or the seeking of knowledge to apply to the given circumstance. This involves an understanding of people, objects, events, situations, and the willingness as well as the ability to apply perception, judgement, and action in keeping with the understanding of what is the optimal course of action. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions (the " passions") so that the universal principle of reason prevails to determine one's action. In short, wisdom is a disposition to find the truth coupled with an optimum judgement as to what actions should be taken.

Wisdom is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Andre Wisdom (born 1993), English footballer
• Jack Wisdom (born 1953), American professor of Planetary Sciences
• John Wisdom (1904–1993), British philosopher
• John Minor Wisdom (1905–1999), American judge
• Norman Wisdom (1915–2010), British comedian
• Olli Wisdom, British musician
• Robert Wisdom (born 1953), American actor
• Robert Wisdom (New South Wales politician) (1830–1888), Attorney General

Fictional characters:

• Peter Wisdom, secret agent published by Marvel Comics

Wisdom is a form of knowledge.

Wisdom may also refer to:

Wisdom was a television series of half-hour interviews conducted by the NBC between 1957 and 1965. The series featured interviews with distinguished guests who were notable experts in the arts, physical and social sciences and in politics at the time. The series has not aired in the last 50 years and appears to have not been released for home video, but does remain accessible through a multitude of databases including the Library of American Broadcasting through several universities in the United States and around the world.

The personification of wisdom, typically as a righteous woman, is a motif found in religious and philosophical texts, most notably in the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible and other Jewish and Christian texts.

The Greek Septuagint, and both the Qumran and Masada Hebrew versions of Ben Sira conclude with a first-person character speaking in Wisdom's voice as in the Book of Proverbs, though it is not certain that this was not appended to Ben Sira from another work. A less clear personification of Wisdom is also found in the Cave 11 Psalm Scroll.

Wisdom is a Hungarian power metal band from Budapest. Formed in the fall of 2001, the group is known for its practice of basing each song on a well-known quotation. Many of the band's lyrics and all of the album covers center on the story of an old man, a cult figure called Wiseman.

Wisdom is a wild female Laysan albatross. She is the oldest confirmed wild bird in the world as well as the oldest banded bird in the world.

''' Wisdom ''' (also known as Mind, Will, and Understanding) is one of the earliest surviving medieval morality plays. Together with Mankind and The Castle of Perseverance, it forms a collection of early English moralities called "The Macro Plays". Wisdom enacts the struggle between good and evil; as an allegory, it depicts Christ (personified in the character of Wisdom) and Lucifer battling over the Soul of Man, with Christ and goodness ultimately victorious. Dating between 1460-1463, the play is preserved in its complete form in the Macro Manuscript, currently a part of the collection of the Folger Shakespeare Library (MS V.a. 354). A manuscript fragment of the first 754 lines also belongs to the Bodleian Library (MS Digby 133). Although the author of Wisdom remains anonymous, the manuscript was transcribed and signed by a monk named Thomas Hyngman. Some scholars have suggested that Hyngman also authored the play.