intellect
in·tel·lect
noun
1.
knowledge and intellectual ability
- “he reads to improve his mind”
- “he has a keen intellect”
2.
the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination
- “we are told that man is endowed with reason and capable of distinguishing good from evil”
3.
a person who uses the mind creatively
Origin
Borrowed from Late Latin intellēctus (“understanding, intellect”), from Latin intellegō (“understand; reason”), from inter (“between, among”) + legō (“read”), with connotation of bind.
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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.