SOURCE 01supportshistorical dictionary
Intelligent — Word History
Documents the traditional morphological analysis.
Word History: inter- plus legere- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
PERMANENT DISPUTE RECORD
ALL DISPUTES ↗CLAIM / COUNTERCLAIM / LIMITRECORD 121
DISPUTE
RECORD.
One scholarly question. Every attached source. The present editorial state, without pretending the last word has been written.
resolvedprobable
Does intellect literally mean “choosing between”?
The morphology of intellegere is traditionally analyzed through inter- and legere, and selection informs the semantic history. That slogan is not a complete theory of cognition.
WORD UNDER REVIEWDISPUTE 121
intellect
/ˈɪntəˌlɛkt/ · noun
The power or capacity of knowing and reasoning, inherited from Latin intellectus and intellegere.
01
DIRECT CLAIM EVIDENCE
2 SOURCES WITH A STANCE
A citation is not a vote. Each record says whether the work supports, challenges, contradicts, or contextualizes the position—and identifies the exact locus used.
SOURCE 02contextlexical database
Logeion: intellegō
Supplies the Latin lexical evidence while not turning morphology into a theory of mind.
Headword intellegō- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Classics Department Editors
- YEAR
- Not recorded
- PUBLISHER
- University of Chicago
02 / EDITORIAL STATE
THE CURRENT RECORD IS RESOLVED.
- CONFIDENCE
- probable
- STATUS
- resolved
- LEGACY SOURCE SUMMARY
- Merriam-Webster and Latin lexicography support the morphology; SET-U separates it from over-literal psychological claims.
The edge carries the morphological insight and an explicit anti-essentialist confidence note.