| 释义 |
informationn. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French information; Latin informātiōn-, informātiō. Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman enformacioun, enformation, informacioun, informacione, Anglo-Norman and Middle French enformacion, informacion, information (French information ) investigation in a criminal matter made by legal officers (1274 in Old French; compare faire des enformations to proceed to a judicial investigation (1323)), instruction (c1275 in Anglo-Norman), (non-judicial) investigation (1334), piece of information, information, data, knowledge (14th cent. or earlier), (plural) information which one obtains about someone (c1360), action of forming something or of giving something a shape or form (c1377), (plural) collection of knowledge about a particular subject (c1500), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin informātiōn-, informātiō formation (of an idea), conception, in post-classical Latin also teaching, instruction (5th cent.), formation, creation, arrangement (from 12th cent. in British sources), (in philosophy) infusion with form (frequently from mid 13th cent. in British sources) < informāt- , past participial stem of informāre inform v. + -iō -ion suffix1, although in both French and English the sense development is greatly influenced by association with the verb (see senses at inform v.), and in each language the word may partly show a formation directly from the verb. Compare Catalan informació (1377), Spanish información (14th cent.), enformación (14th cent.; now archaic), Portuguese informação (14th cent.), Italian informazione (c1430). Compare informing n. I. The imparting of knowledge in general. 1. society > education > [noun] a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 33 Fyve bookes com doun from heven for informacioun of mankynde. a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) vii. l. 1780 A tale, which is evident Of trouthe in comendacioun, Toward thin enformacion. c1425 J. Lydgate (Augustus A.iv) ii. l. 6202 (MED) Agamenoun Hath be counseil and informacioun Of wyse Calchas made sette vp on þe londe, In-to an Ile. ?a1430 T. Hoccleve Clothing of Virgin (Huntington) l. 9 in (1970) ii. 290 This man had a yong sone, Vn-to which he yaf informacion, Euery day. 1526 Eph. vi. 4 Brynge them vppe with the norter and informacion off the lorde. 1597 R. Hooker v. xx. 36 Their [sc. apocryphal books'] fitnesse for the publique information of life and manners. a1629 W. Hinde (1641) xxxi. 97 For their better information in the way of God, and more effectuall reclaiming of themselves. 1663 J. Spencer (1665) 20 To lead them to the light by a faithful information of their Judgments. 1736 Bp. J. Butler ii. vii. 257 Our Reason and Affections, which God has given us, for the Information of our Judgment and the Conduct of our Lives. 1813 T. Jefferson (1830) IV. 182 The book I have read with extreme satisfaction and information. 1851 U. Gregory Let. 6 Oct. in F. W. Shearman (1852) 579 The literary and scientific institution contributes to the discipline and general information of the mind. 1901 H. Münsterberg iii. 44 The community ought to see to it that both free election and the pedagogical information of the teachers were furthered. society > education > teaching > means of teaching > [noun] > point(s) of instruction c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) §900 Whanne Melibee hadde herd the grete skiles and resons of dame Prudence, & hire wise informacions and techynges. 1450 V. 178/2 The seid Duke of Suffolk..hath..opened to your seid grete Ennemye Charles..all Instructions and Informations geven to your seid Ambassiatours. 1535 Ecclus. l. 27 I..haue tokened vp these informacions and documentes of wyszdome and vnderstandinge in this boke. 1556 N. Grimald in tr. Cicero Ep. sig. ¶iiijv Paines taking, here to enriche themselues with enformations of vertue. 1602 W. Temple 25 They had for direction of their life not onely an addresse from nature, but some diuine and extraordinarie informations from the Lord. 1646 W. Umfrevile (title) An information for Mr. William Dell... Or, an answer to his reply upon Mr. Loves contradictions. 1725 A. Pope tr. Homer I. 21 It is to this Mentes we owe the two Poems of Homer, for the Poet in all probability had never wrote them without those lights and informations he receiv'd, and the discoveries he was enabled to make, by those travels. 1760 W. Law i. 12 A most kind and loving information given by the God of love to his new-born offspring. society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > inspiration or revelation > [noun] c1450 (?a1422) J. Lydgate (Durh.) iv. l. 310 (MED) Crist was..First a prophete by holy informacion. a1530 W. Bonde (1531) iii. f. Clxxxxix The holy apostles makyng this Crede by the instinccyon & informacyon of the holy goost. 1559 Primer in (1851) 30 O God, which by the information of the Holy Ghost hast instructed the hearts of thy faithful. a1633 W. Ames (1641) sig. Ii2 The end and scope of all divine information and instruction in respect of the faithfull is, that they may be stablished and grow in that grace which they have received. 1660 R. Baxter 7 I dare promise you from the information of the Holy-Ghost here given us in this Text that now I have read to to [sic] you, to tell you the Only way to true Unity. 1720 J. Smith 203 The Particulars of this they ow'd wholly to the Information of that holy Spirit, by which they were enabled to give the whole Account. 1799 W. Barrow iii. 129 Divine information appears to be the seed, however small, from which sprung the abundant harvest of science. 1809 G. Ewing in (1812) 8 1124 Whatever God is pleased to communicate..must be equally certain, whether conveyed by intimate converse..or by the internal information of the Holy Spirit. 1859 W. F. Hook (ed. 8) 6/2 The power of absolution is remarkably exercised by St. Paul, though absent, and depending on both report and the information of the Holy Spirit. 1991 D. W. Halivni 160 A voice from heaven on occasion decided practical matters, and was considered a true source of divine information. 2000 (Nexis) 22 June A 10th-century carved ivory book cover depicts Pope Gregory the Great receiving information from the Holy Spirit. society > communication > information > action of informing > [noun] > quality 1712 J. Henley in No. 518. ⁋7 A Number of Circumstances of equal Consequence and Information. 1793 J. Wilde 126 A work..of very considerable information upon the constitutional history of that kingdom. 2. society > communication > information > [noun] 1390 in J. Slater (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 18 Robert..through his wrang informatioune has gert skaith the said abbot. a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) v. 593 (MED) This fieverous maladie..Makth the Jelous..To lese of love his appetit Thurgh feigned enformacion Of his ymaginacion. c1450 (Sloane 2464) l. 1695 Fferthere to geve the Enformacioun, Of mustard whyte the seed is profitable. 1464 J. Gresham in (2004) II. 294 I haue spoken on-to Catesby and delyuered hym your enformacion. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria ii. iii. f. 63 Muche otherwyse then Zamudius information. 1662 E. Stillingfleet ii. ii. §1 That he have sufficient information concerning the things he undertakes to write of. 1672 T. Henshaw Let. 12 Dec. in H. Oldenburg (1973) IX. 353 All ye information I can gain of it is that it is taken out of certain birds nests in Island and Norway. 1726 J. Swift II. iii. ii. 18 It was necessary to give the Reader this Information. 1786 W. Speechly Pref. p. ix The use of Oak-leaves in Hot-houses is a very important article of information. 1852 S. Thomson 285/1 To use a simile, the brain may be likened to a great central telegraph office, to which the wires—nerves—convey the information from all parts of the body that supplies are wanted. 1876 W. C. Baker Let. 19 Dec. in R. Stuart et al. (1961) II. 1018 I have thus spun quite a long yarn without giving you information of any value. 1895 73 651/1 If the underwriters wanted to know more, they ought to have asked for information. 1927 F. M. Thrasher iv. xx. 416 The ‘grapevine system’, whereby information travels very rapidly through the length and breadth of the underworld. 1956 A. Wilson i. i. 7 I should be glad of any personal information you may care to provide me with upon this neglected and important young poet. 2003 N. Rush xxxv. 658 Ray's old self would have been elated to get any shreds and pieces of information that linked Ichokela with SWAPO in Namibia. society > communication > information > [noun] > piece of a1527 R. Thorne in R. Hakluyt (1582) sig. B3v An information of the parts of the world, discouered by him. a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara (1546) sig. Ll.viijv I..haue herde of the a longe informacion. 1624 (title) A Briefe information of the Affaires of the Palatinate. 1666 A. Marvell Let. 27 Oct. in (1971) II. 43 Many informations are daily brought in to the two Committees about the Fire of London. 1724 J. Swift 31 All the Assistance I had were some Informations from an Eminent Person. 1747 Ld. Chesterfield 14 Apr. (1932) (modernized text) III. 906 The informations I have lately received in your favour from Mr. Harte. 1785 C. Reeve I. Pref. p.v Of metrical Romances they have treated largely, but with respect to those in prose, their informations have been scanty and imperfect. 1845 T. Carlyle (ed. 2) Pref. Great changes in our notions, informations, in our relations to the Life of Schiller. 1886 R. L. Stevenson xxvii. 280 So far, I may tell you, this agrees pretty exactly with other informations that I hold. 1910 25 127 Practically every detail of his story can be paralleled from these informations. 1959 M. Bunge ii. 52 Scientific prediction, in contrast with prophecy, is based on laws and on specific reliable informations regarding the present (or past) state of affairs. the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > statistics > piece of statistical information 1925 R. A. Fisher in 22 709 What we have spoken of as the intrinsic accuracy of an error curve may equally be conceived as the amount of information in a single observation belonging to such a distribution. 1928 R. V. L. Hartley in 7 540 What we have done then is to take as our practical measure of information the logarithm of the number of possible symbol sequences. 1935 R. A. Fisher in 98 47 As a mathematical quantity information is strikingly similar to entropy in the mathematical theory of thermo-dynamics. 1948 N. Wiener iii. 76 A reasonable measure of the amount of information associated with the curve f1(x) is: ∞−∞(log2f1(x))f1(x) dx. The quantity we here define as amount of information is the negative of the quantity usually defined as entropy in similar situations. The definition..is not the one given by R. A. Fisher for statistical problems, although it is a statistical definition. 1948 C. E. Shannon in July 394 We shall call H = − Σpi log pi the entropy of the set of probabilities p1…, pn… The quantity H has a number of interesting properties which further substantiate it as a reasonable measure of choice or information. 1949 W. Weaver in C. E. Shannon & W. Weaver 99 The word information, in this theory, is used in a special sense that must not be confused with its ordinary usage... In fact, two messages, one of which is heavily loaded with meaning and the other of which is pure nonsense, can be exactly equivalent, from the present viewpoint, as regards information. 1953 J. B. Carroll vii. 200 Information (in the special sense required in communication theory) may be measured in bits. 1956 L. Brillouin p. x Information is a function of the ratio of the number of possible answers before and after... This definition cannot distinguish between information of great importance and a piece of news of no great value for the person who receives it. 1970 O. Dopping i. 19 Any language with different frequency of occurrence of different symbols has less information per symbol than another (hypothetical) language with the same number of symbol values but with equal probability of occurrence of them all. 2007 Oct. 10/2 This is a part of the brain responsible for filtering out some of the 400 billion bits of information we receive each second. society > communication > information > [noun] > information as processed by machines 1937 Nov. 329/1 The whole difficulty resides in the amount of definition in the [television] picture, or, as the engineers put it, the amount of information to be transmitted in a given time. 1944 21 133/2 Information is conveyed to the machine by means of punched cards. 1953 J. C. Eccles i. 1 We may say that all ‘information’ is conveyed in the nervous system in the form of coded arrangements of nerve impulses. 1953 J. D. Watson & F. H. C. Crick in 30 May 965/2 In a long molecule many different permutations are possible, and it therefore seems likely that the precise sequence of the bases is the code which carries the genetical information. 1961 26 Jan. 201/2 The colour information is added to a conventional black-and-white signal on an amplitude and phase modulated sub-carrier located in the vision band. 1971 R. M. Dowben v. 97 Genetically transmitted information precisely determines the amino acid composition of all proteins synthesized by each cell. 2002 T. Pratchett et al. xviii. 185 This flawed metaphor leads to the equally flawed conclusion that the genome explains the complexity of an organism in terms of the amount of information in its DNA code. 1970 A. Chandor et al. 99 Data is sometimes contrasted with information, which is said to result from the processing of data. 1977 86 640/2 This admixture of information and data is cemented by an experience accumulated over the years and a dash of intuition into a ‘make-do’ diagnosis. 2001 R. W. Cahn xiii. 498 The process already has a name—datamining... This means ‘the extraction of implicit, previously unknown and potentially useful information from data’. 2007 44 600/1 A common distinction within this domain is that data is raw numbers and facts, information is processed data. 3. society > communication > information > action of informing > [noun] a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) vi. l. 1927 This nyht for enformacion Ye schul have an avision. ?a1425 (c1400) (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 39 I haue vndirstonden be informacioun þat his lampe quencheth. a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in (1557) 37/2 This haue I by credible informacion learned. 1555 R. Eden in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Pref. sig. aij The autoure..hath seene a greate parte him selfe..and gathered the residewe partly by information. 1601 Ld. Mountjoy Let. 7 Nov. in F. Moryson (1617) ii. ii. ii. 152 Wee beseech your Lordships giue vs leaue to referre you for your information in that point to the Iournall which herewithall we send. 1694 R. South II. 113 By way of Information or Notification of the Thing to Him. 1724 J. Henley in J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny the Younger I. vi. xvi. 287 You desir'd no Information, but upon his Death [L. nec tu aliud quam de exitu eius scire voluisti]. 1795 W. Paley (ed. 3) II. ii. vi. 194 Difficulties always attend imperfect information. 1804 J. Larwood 23 Her Emissaries are at the secret spywork of observation and information. 1877 24 Nov. 448/1 For the information of members, we publish entire the By-laws. 1930 15 Mar. 8/6 The talking news-reel is a new vehicle of public information and entertainment. 1954 E. L. Kohler (ed. 2) xvi. 587 Qualifications or disclosures believed necessary for the information of the reader or for the protection of the accountant. 2001 S. Kane xv. 169 For your information, the following list indicates the major religious observances in the Fall Term. society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun] > telephone services 1910 11 Dec. 9/1 One side of a conversation which sounds like this. ‘Information.’ ‘Eight-thirty.’ 1941 P. Sturges Sullivan's Trav. in (1986) 613 Information, please. Hello, information? Have you any freight trains going east this afternoon? 1977 30 June 80/3 Getting Honolulu information, I got a number for Wiley Hampson. 2007 M. Connelly in 21 Jan. 30/1 He then called Information and was connected to the front desk at the Mark Twain [Hotel]. II. The imparting of incriminating knowledge. society > communication > information > informing on or against > [noun] society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > [noun] 1387–8 Petition London Mercers in (1767–77) III. 225/2 (MED) Thanne were such proclamacions made..bi suggestion & informacion of suche that wolde nought her falsnesse had be knowen to owre lige Lorde. 1432 in (1904) II. 38 The said Erle..maye not..lette malicious and untrewe men to make informacions of his persone. 1480 W. Caxton (1482) ccxliii. 288 A grete part of the peple..weren in grete errour and grutchyng ayenst the kyng thurgh Informacyon of lyes and fals lesyng that this Serle has made. 1535 G. Joye sig. C.viii Besydis thys condempnacion of me by hearsaye or enformacion of hys faccyon. 1548 R. Crowley (title) An informacion and Peticion agaynst the oppressours of the pore Commons of this Realme. 1565 A. Golding tr. Caesar i. f. 16 Herevppon hee called Dumnorix aside..laying before him what informations were put vp against him. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher v. iii. 144 In seeking tales and Informations Against this man. View more context for this quotation 1660 Commons Jrnl. in J. Milton (1859) 57 Ordered, That Mr. Attorney General do cause effectual proceedings to be forthwith had, by way of indictment or information, against John Milton, in respect of the two books by him written. 5. Law. society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > [noun] > a charge, accusation, or allegation > criminal charge > based on allegation not indictment society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > bring a charge [verb (intransitive)] 1467–8 (Electronic ed.) Parl. June 1467 §41. m. 39 That..every such infourmer..be admitted to sue for the kyng and hym self actions..uppon the same, by enformation to be yeven or made in eny of the seid courtes. 1482 VI. 208/1 If the Kyngs Attourney Generall of his said Duchie..put a Bill into eny of the Kyngs Courtes by wey of enformation..the Justices of the same Court..shall have power [etc.]. 1523 c. 1 The person..that will first sue for the same, by originall of dette, bill, plainte, or informacion, in any of the kynges courtes. 1588–9 c. 5 §3 Suche officer[s] of recorde as have in respecte of their offices heretofore laufullye used to exhibite informacions or sue upon penall lawes. 1629 in W. Cobbett (1809) III. 300 This matter [against Elliot, Hollis and Valentine] is brought in this court by way of Information, where it ought to be by way of Indictment. 1647 T. May i. i. 13 They were also vexed with informations in inferiour Courts; where they were sentenced, and fined for matters done in Parliament. 1733 J. Harvey (title) Orders, Warrants, Informations, and variety of Precedents for Justices of the Peace. 1769 W. Blackstone (1809) IV. xxiii. §3 309 The objects of the other species of informations, filed by the master of the crown-office upon the complaint or relation of a private subject, are any gross and notorious misdemesnors, riots, batteries, libels, and other immoralities of an atrocious kind. 1838 C. Dickens III. li. 311 The gentleman being accommodated with threepennyworth of brandy to restore her, lays an information next day, and pockets half the penalty. 1875 T. S. Pritchard iv. §4. 173 Prosecutions by information at the quarter sessions can only be instituted in cases where, by a penal statute, an informer is allowed to take this course to recover the penalty; but this proceeding is generally disused. 1918 16 452 Because informations, unlike indictments, are not the work of a grand jury they may be amended, with the court's consent, by the public officer. 1951 G. Heyer xiv. 203 There will be no duel, if I have to lay an information against them both to prevent it. 1978 22 52 [In Sudan.] All police proceedings begin with an information being duly entered. 1997 T. Moran ix. 259 Any Environmental Health Officer laying an information would be well advised to record the date and time that the information was handed to the office. society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > complaint in respect of civil claim > of the Crown 1624 c. 14 (title) An Act to admit the Subject to plead the General Issue in Informations of Intrusion brought on the Kings behalf, and to retain his possession till Trial. 1689 93 Here is an Information brought by Mr. Attorny General on behalf of the King. 1768 W. Blackstone (1809) III. xvii. 261 An information on behalf of the crown, filed in the exchequer by the king's attorney general. 1819 J. Wightwick 167 (margin) The Prince of Wales may file an English information of intrusion by his Attorney General, for lands parcel of the Dutchy of Cornwall. 1838 R. Meeson & W. N. Welsby II. 23 An information of intrusion, to recover possession of certain encroachments on the wastes of the Crown. 1888 4 Dec. 5/2 By an exercise of the Royal prerogative an ancient method of procedure, known as an English information, is adopted for the settlement of these foreshore disputes between the Crown and its subjects. 1900 at Information sb. 5b Civil informations are or have been laid: †(a) in Chancery, on behalf of the crown or government, or of those of whom the crown has custody..(obs.); (b) in the Exchequer, under the equitable jurisdiction of the court (called English information from its resemblance to a complaint in equity formerly called an English bill); now transferred to the Queen's Bench Division; (c) at Common Law, for Intrusion or trespass on crown lands; Purpresture or encroachment on crown or public lands; in personam, for money due to the crown; in rem, for goods, derelicts, etc. belonging to the crown, and for default in payment of excise duties. 1954 M. Beresford v. 143 The informations against enclosers laid in the Court of Exchequer. 2000 R. Smith 140 Latin Informations and English Informations were abolished by the Crown Proceedings Act 1947. society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > [noun] > (written) pleadings or statement of case society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > [noun] > a charge, accusation, or allegation > criminal charge > written 1681 J. Dalrymple 18 Either Party give their Informations to the Lords containing the deduction and favour of the Cause. 1701 c. 6 Enacts and ordains that all Informers shall signe their Informations. 1752 J. Louthian (ed. 2) 102 The Clerk..reads the Prosecutor's Information, with the Information on or Answers thereto for the Pannel, off the Book. a1768 J. Erskine (1773) II. iv. iv. 734 No person can be imprisoned, in order to trial for any crime, without a warrant in writing, expressing the cause, and proceeding upon a signed information. 1838 W. Bell 493 In the Court of Justiciary..the Court is in use to order Informations, on which the points raised are argued fully in writing. 1904 A. M. Anderson (ed. 2) 240 In the case of commitment for trial, three things, as a rule, are essential:—1. A signed information which need not be formal. society > law > administration of justice > process, writ, warrant, or order > [noun] > other processes, writs, or warrants 1690 R. L'Estrange 6 Such respective City, Town, Burg or Cinque-port, whereof, or wherein he was a Member, at, or before the time of making such Surrender,..or prosecuting such Scire facias, Quo Warranto, or Information in nature of Quo Warranto. a1726 G. Gilbert (1760) 157 He admitted, that if an Information Quo warranto were brought for several distinct Franchises, then there might be different Judgments. 1765 W. Blackstone (1809) I. xviii. 485 An information in the nature of a writ of quo warranto, to enquire by what warrant the members now exercise their corporate power. 1827 H. Hallam II. xii. 323 An information, as it is called, quo warranto was accordingly brought into the Court of King's Bench against the corporation. 1877 (U.S. Electoral Comm.) 272 It has been settled in England for more than one hundred years, and is perfectly well settled in this country [sc. the United States], that information in the nature of quo warranto is in its nature a civil proceeding. 1926 1 Apr. 5/3 Either proceedings by an information quo warranto would lie or they would not. The test was whether the office was of a public nature. 1946 8 157 Beales's supporters applied for a quo warranto information. 2001 E. Campbell & H. P. Lee iv. 90 The Rules of the High Court of Australia and of the Supreme Court of Western Australia preserve informations in the nature of quo warranto. society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > [noun] > a charge, accusation, or allegation > accusation or charge in foreign judicatures society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > [noun] > argument after pleading 1568 V. Skinner tr. R. González de Montes f. 1 Whensoeuer any denunciation (as they terme it) or rather information is geuen against any person..the Inquisitors accustomably vse this kind of practise. 1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero 57 The suppliant, complainant or suter, speaketh without aduocate or atturney, and is forced to answer presently to the information of his aduersarie if he be present. 1681 ii. 15 Next day there were Informations made on both sides. 1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch (1879) II. 909/2 The information was first laid under the archonship of Chœrondas. 1774 S. Hallifax (1795) 125 Informations are arguments urged before the Judge by the Advocates on both sides, after the Pleadings and Proofs are concluded. 1781 E. Gibbon II. xvii. 60 The terrors of a malicious information, which might select them as the accomplices..of an imaginary crime, perpetually hung over the heads of the principal citizens of the Roman world. 1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato II. 97 Then follow informations and convictions for treason. 1938 W. L. Burdick (2004) xxiii. 698 (note) A form of one of these informations is given by Paulus. 1992 O. F. Robinson xii. 195 While we know that the Roman system of criminal prosecution was a private process, with individual citizens laying informations, how far was this true of street crime? III. The giving of form. the world > life > source or principle of life > giving of life > [noun] the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > introduction or bringing in > [noun] > infusion 1630 J. Sharpe x. 373 The soule or spirit doth giue information, or operation to the whole body, and euery part thereof. 1646 Sir T. Browne vi. i. 274 There was a seminality and contracted Adam in the rib, which by the information of a soule, was individuated into Eve. View more context for this quotation 1669 Earl of Clarendon Ess. in (1727) 117 That..no information of pride may enter into us to make us believe that we are better than other men. 1701 J. Norris I. ii. 72 To be always in a separate state would be violent and unnatural to spirits made apt for the information of bodies, to which therefore they would naturally require to be united. 1748 S. Richardson VI. xxix. 97 I believe I could, with a little pains, have given them life and soul, and to every feature of their faces sparkling information. 1870 R. W. Emerson 144 There does not seem any limit to these new informations of the same Spirit that made the elements at first. 2002 S. F. Parsons ii. xii. 217 To ask about how I am made, and so to ponder the information of the soul by that which lies beyond its grasp. Phrases1993 14 May a4/1 She was..regaling 323 strangers in the audience with the difference between C-section and normal delivery. The bemused Hall turned to the camera and confided, ‘That's more information than I needed.’ 1993 Q. Tarantino & R. Avary (film script, last draft) (O.E.D. Archive) 67 Vincent. I'm gonna take a piss. Mia. That was a little bit more information than I needed to know, but go right ahead. 2001 (Nexis) 18 Feb. 5 c This probably is more information than you want, or need, to know, but [the] Nashville forward..likes to be naked in his hotel room on road trips. 2015 S. Nobel vi. 83 ‘He's got a serious case of the squirts!’ ‘Whoa, whoa! That's more information than I need, but thanks for the visual.’ 1996 22 Sept. b9/5 (heading) Too Much Information!..‘I am a vegetarian, so I use Spam only as a form of contraception,’ former Monty Python lunatic Eric Idle said recently. 2005 July 82/1 ‘I would drag my balls over ten miles of broken glass to hear Drea piss in a tin cup over a telephone,’ he says, taking the concept of ‘too much information’ to previously uncharted terrain. 2015 J. Nelson (U.K. ed.) 231 I left something for you. A photo... With a note on the back... It's gone... Probably for the best. Too Much Information, as you lot say. Compounds C1. a. General attributive. 1871 ‘A Bank Manager’ 156 It is well..to obtain through some respectable private information-agent, a trade opinion. 1950 22 June 5/3 It was a breach of conduct for General Mast..to have been on familiar terms with him as information agent. 1906 8 July 10/1 In addition to establishing a much-talked-of exhibit, they are becoming a sort of information center, and are queried with all sorts of queries. 1997 B. McCrea et al. 210 On the southern tip of the lagoon is a large old farmhouse.., where there's an information centre, tea room and accommodation. 1915 F. W. Sanders 79 The information-content of the instruction should be as large as the limited time and..the ignorance of auxiliary subjects would make possible. 1982 J. Benedetti (1989) 44 The meaning of the words spoken depends not merely on their information content but on the situation in which they occur. 2002 15 Mar. 1973 Chemical ecologists endeavor to decipher both the chemical structure and the information content of the mediating molecules. 1890 20 Feb. 286/3 This corner shall become an Information Desk for our young readers. 1947 J. Shelton in June 94/1 He climbed out, paid the cabbie and walked to the information desk presenting his reservation for transport. 2005 (Nexis) 20 Oct. 9 He hopes to instil common sense into the gallery, which until this year lacked simple visitor facilities such as a cloakroom and information desk. 1942 3 Mar. 1/4 (headline) Arrests to stop information flow disclosed by Navy. 2004 (Nexis) 14 July a15 Satellites are the centres of gravity when it comes to information flow. 1890 M. Townsend Pref. 1 The mass of curious facts, coincidences, and information-items from which this book is evolved. 1978 21 Nov. 28/3 (advt.) The post will involve..writing of some information items. 1782 J. Scott 35 This man..had opened what may properly be called an information office in Calcutta. 1870 F. Kapp 213 (heading) For the government of the information office, for friends of arriving emigrants. 1959 11 Aug. 6/2 The information office of the United States Embassy in London has sent to newspapers what it calls a ‘backgrounder’ on the events in Laos. 2004 (Nexis) 30 Dec. 15 The information office released a list of 75 spokespeople associated with 62 government departments at a low-key news conference on Tuesday. 1885 29 Mar. 1/4 He also served during two campaigns as chief of the information service, supplying news and political points to members of the press. 1935 E. S. Hedges in 35 An information service which distributes in-coming information to interested quarters can be more effective than one which merely renders the information available on request. 2001 May 44/2 Access to many of the information services is actually fee-based. 1950 38 278/2 A consideration of the effects of information storage and information transfer on physical, chemical, biological, psychological, and sociological systems. 2003 31 Oct. 800/1 The remodeling of synapses is a fundamental mechanism for information storage and processing in the brain. 1904 10 Dec. 9/3 When for any reason a Ministry is attacked, its information system is denounced as delation. 1946 P. Crawford in (1985) 385 As the number, speed, and lethality of missiles increase, it becomes necessary to place a relatively small number of human operators at the center of an elaborate information system involving a large quantity of powerful computing equipment. 1982 J. Campbell iii. xv. 174 Rules stored in the information system of DNA are responsible for the rich complexity of body and brain. 2006 20 Apr. 41/1 (advt.) You will need to demonstrate a track record in the delivery of change management and experience in managing information systems. 1949 20 Oct. 20/4 This is the formal means of information transfer. 2005 169 669 Sensory neurons in the retina..are able to continuously adjust their synaptic output to changing inputs and thus optimize information transfer. 1890 25 Dec. The first appointment announced gave general satisfaction, being that of Moses P. Handy as chief of the ‘World's fair department of promotion and publicity.’ In plain English this means the newspaper advertising and information work. 1932 43 In information work initiative is of high importance. 2002 P. Augar & J. Palmer ii. 26 Manufacturing and services were transformed by new technologies, becoming more and more dependent on knowledge and information work. b. Objective. (a) With participles and verbal nouns. 1920 2/1 The information carrying slips or coupons A, C, D, E and F are all similarly numbered. 1962 4 68 The information-carrying capacity of a wave depends directly on the frequency. 1997 R. Portanova in R. C. Ward vi. 83/2 A hormone is an information-carrying molecule. 1893 W. G. Collingwood II. i. iv. 41 The intelligent analysis of words and thoughts and feelings of great authors, as opposed to..superficial information-gathering. 1967 N. S. M. Cox & M. W. Grose 70 A subject-specialist studies the information needs and information-gathering habits of a group of teachers. 1995 June 10/2 Unwanted mail, ‘invisible’ information gathering, and identity theft topped the list of consumer privacy concerns. 1829 N. L. Beamish I. i. 8 ‘Shure Masther Pierce is goin' for a sowger,’ ejaculated Pat, with an information-giving face. a1832 J. Bentham (1834) II. iv. 211 Discourse may wound by information-giving. 1908 1 July 6/3 The first products of Canada, states one of the numerous information-giving tablets, are worth thirty million dollars a year. 1927 J. Adams iv. 122 Instruction must be distinguished from mere information-giving. 1970 L. M. Lessinger in A. C. Ornstein (1973) i. 10 The teaching role will finally change from information-giving to directing learning. 2004 (Nexis) 8 Apr. The course is an information-giving course, not based on personal or group therapy sessions. 1950 Oct. 399/1 Information-handling machines where emphasis is on logical competence. 1962 R. L. Meier vii. 132 (heading) The identification of a human capacity for information handling. 1989 13 4 The understanding of database information-handling. 2005 (Nexis) 5 Nov. 15 A dominant position in the information handling software market. 1869 P. Hingston in Pref. 51 With due regard to the exactitude and accuracy of statement expected by information-seeking readers in a book of travels. 1956 J. Klein x. 140 The whole elaborate process of information-seeking, evaluation and decision. 2006 (Nexis) 9 Feb. 8 Book-reading, information-seeking villagers in North Devon have started a campaign to save their local library. (b) With agent nouns. 1964 72 518 The Commissariat..acts like a mentor, a co-ordinator, an expert, and an information broker. 2007 (Nexis) 8 Dec. His reputation as a political guru and information broker has made him an important member of the informally dubbed ‘Off the Record Club’. 1899 H. S. Clark xviii. 283 Independent action..directed against one of the government's information gatherers. 1964 M. McLuhan (1967) ii. xxviii. 302 Man the food-gatherer reappears incongruously as information-gatherer. 2007 (Nexis) 20 May 10 You have to be a very special sort of woman to deal with all the pressures while at the same time being a relaxed and highly efficient information gatherer. C2. 1960 R. S. Leghorn in H. B. Maynard xlvii. 1024 Present and anticipated spectacular informational achievements will usher in public recognition of the ‘information age’, probably under a more symbolic title. 1971 M. McLuhan 8 Mar. (1987) 428 I suggest that it can be the basis for a complete restatement of political and economic realities in the information age of the wired planet. 2002 P. Kotler et al. i. 6 The information age has created hypercompetitive markets. 1966 J. McLaughlin v. 63 These preliminary analyses are generally undertaken by the management of the firm itself, often in conjunction with a professional information architect. 1996 June 38/1 Web designers see their function as that of an information architect. 2004 (Nexis) 24 June 12 Information architects..make sites work, and increase their usefulness to the visitor. 1969 D. W. Miller & M. K. Starr (ed. 2) ix. 225 Similar insights concerning the economics of information architecture can usually be obtained from descriptive models by using appropriate heuristic procedures. 1971 Mar. 47/1 To implement such multilevel information architecture, one need not develop all three levels at once. 1997 Jan. 36/2 The first order of business in..information architecture is to create a list of all the..services you plan to offer on your Web site. 2005 (Nexis) 4 July d5 One..producer with five to 10 years of experience in information architecture and design. 1892 10 Sept. 7/1 (headline) Hich school cadets assigned to information booths. 1954 M. E. Treadwell xxxiv. 692 Small information booths were set up in department stores..and other places where women were more likely to go. 2006 (Nexis) 4 Feb. 21 A 12-month beano organised by the city fathers, with an information booth beside the State Opera. 1975 D. Weir in D. Gowler & K. Legge 173 There is no inducement for the man..to share this information with his superiors. There will always be a sort of ‘information bubble’ trapped down between the lower layers of the system. 2005 (Nexis) 21 Sept. 11 Technology is allowing people to live in an ‘information bubble’ that they have created and shut themselves off from news, advertising or other data they choose not to see. 2020 @JamesCa96152359 10 Dec. in twitter.com (accessed 18 Dec. 2020) There is plenty of evidence if you care to get out of your information bubble and have a look. society > communication > information > action of informing > [noun] > source of information > information bureau 1869 131 (heading) Information bureau for friends of arriving emigrants. 1922 E. Wallace vii. 44 Well, Jebson... You're a pretty fine information bureau! You told me that Patience hadn't a ghost of a chance. 1968 4 July 31/3 The information bureau of the Disabled Living Activities Group. 2006 (Nexis) 26 Aug. 4 The information bureau moved to bigger premises..to deal with the increased demand for its services. 1941 30 Nov. 10/3 Are people better informed than they used to be? Answer: Yes, thanks to the information explosion. 1960 24 May 19/2 The information explosion in which the field of science alone estimates that the amount of material available has doubled in the last 10 years. 2001 (Nexis) 14 Mar. 7 The committee agreed to a co-ordinated approach to plagiarism in light of the information explosion which has given students more opportunities to cheat. 1891 Jan. 45/1 The five little books..fill what may be termed the information gap, so noticeable in most school readers published in the United States. 1964 20 Aug. 38/2 There is an information gap of major dimensions between people of advanced education and the broad mass public. 2006 (Nexis) 26 Oct. Seoul has been pushing its e-governance initiative since 2002 with the goal of narrowing the information gap between cities and regional villages. society > communication > information > action of informing > [noun] > person who > professional 1889 vii. 605 The Argentine government maintains information officers abroad,..furnishing whatever data are required respecting the laws, usages, and wealth of the republic. 1947 2 240 I am not a librarian at all; I am not even a trained information officer. 2000 D. Bailey 8 I was an information officer with the provincial government. 1903 29 June Mrs. McSherry..having been until recently in the employ of the Union Telephone Co. as its information operator. 1952 8 Dec. 15/7 Information operators were busy yesterday answering queries from people who had dialed the old four-digit number. 2002 D. Ehrenfeld 46 The artificial information operator at 411. 1962 R. L. Meier vii. 132 (heading) The threat of information overload... The problems of widespread saturation in communications flow may arise within the next half century. 1996 (Electronic ed.) 15 Oct. The report..found that half of the managers already complained of information overload, partly caused by ‘enormous’ amounts of unsolicited information, and the same proportion expected the Internet to become a prime cause of the problem in the next two years. 2001 C. Glazebrook 81 Thank you, Mickey. No need for information overload. 1970 E. B. Parker in H. Sackman & N. Nie 53 Will the information utilities..be utilized..to exacerbate the serious tensions in our society by further widening the gulf between the information-rich and the information-poor? 1974 G. G. Unruh & W. M. Alexander (ed. 2) i. 6 Schools..continue to design their programs for an information-poor society. 1985 13 436 The more interesting PP methods are able to ignore irrelevant (i.e. noisy and information-poor) variables. 2000 26 Mar. 2/5 Ironical, isn't it, that the so-called information poor may be sitting on a gold mine of information stored in the DNA of the plants they use daily. society > communication > information > action of informing > [noun] > information processing 1950 4 31 Automatic digital computers belong to a class of devices which may be described by the term ‘information processing systems’. 1971 499 It is a fundamental requirement of any information processing system to ensure that the data..is maintained at an acceptable level of accuracy, and is protected against corruption. 2005 12 May p. vii Cubozoans, or box jellyfish, each have twenty-four eyes of four types, but no central brain for information processing. society > communication > information > action of informing > [noun] > information retrieval 1950 C. N. Mooers (Zator Techn. Bull. No. 48) 5 The requirements of information retrieval, of finding information whose location or very existence is a-priori unknown. 1972 7 61 Prof. D. Raj Reddy offers a set of exercises in..language translation, poetry concordance, and information retrieval to interested readers. 2003 7 June 59 (Advt.) You will take on a wide remit that includes information retrieval, analysis, visualisation and road mapping. society > computing and information technology > [noun] > changes caused by society > communication > information > [noun] > information as processed by machines > increase in availability of information 1961 25 No. 3. 3/2 We are entering upon an Information Revolution in which the supply of data increases by geometric progression. 1997 J. Seabrook v. 133 In the Information Revolution we can get machines to do most of the grunt work. 2006 21 Dec. 18/2 American policy-makers..are dealing with the ongoing ‘Information Revolution’ that Boots dates from the 1990s. 1959 C. B. Anfinsen x. 205 These two cellular components are somehow linked in the process of establishing information-rich biosynthetic machinery in the cytoplasm. 1970 E. B. Parker in H. Sackman & N. Nie 53 Will the information utilities..be utilized..to exacerbate the serious tensions in our society by further widening the gulf between the information-rich and the information-poor? 1972 Feb. 73 Two aspects of the communications structure of information-rich open societies are destroying two classical functions of the school. 2000 2 Jan. i. 21/2 The information-rich among us will move further into the virtual world made possible by information technology. society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police office or station > part of police station 1874 8 573 My memory also records the Mechanics' Institute, the information-room, and sundry other comforts which the Darlington Committee had bethought themselves of for our behest. 1913 14 May 11/1 The appointment of a clerk to be designated ‘Information Deputy’, who shall have an ‘information room’. 1958 A. Garfitt I. iii. 77 An Information Room is established at some [police] headquarters and is the centre through which information, particularly as to crime and suspected crime, can be disseminated by wireless, teleprinter or telephone. 2006 (Nexis) 12 Dec. 6 Parents have their own information room, where they can chat to staff about different aspects of care. 1947 13 Nov. 4/3 The board was ordered, as part of Mr. Truman's loyalty program, to draft minimum requirements for information security throughout the government. 1989 Aug. 104/3 How many more of these serious [virus] attacks need to occur before information security becomes less of a choice and recognized more as a way of doing business today? 2004 V. C. Joshi viii. 114 The extent of the information security programme should be commensurate with the degree of risk associated with the institution's systems, networks, and information assets. 1983 3 Jan. 40/1 Two information superhighways being built of fiber-optic cable will link Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. 1993 26 Oct. c9/1 One of the technologies Vice President Al Gore is pushing is the information superhighway, which will link everyone at home or office to everything else. 2000 16 Mar. (Connected section) 10/5 Schools using telephone modems or ISDN digital phone lines for connecting to the internet are discovering that traffic along the information superhighway often slows down to a crawl. 2001 19 Mar. 105/1 The spinal cord, the body's information superhighway. 1966 (title of transcript) At Issue 69: The Information War, National Educational Television. 1974 T. L. Stoddard et al. 95 The information war continued into the early 1970s. The influence of the media, like that of the educational system, was just being fully explored. 1982 (Nexis) 26 May 17 The Argentines have..been winning the information war hands down... Millions of viewers in friendly and neutral countries..have by default been receiving a one-sided anti-British picture so far as actuality material goes. 2002 D. Verton viii. 178 Undoubtedly, the programs were also stored as part of a virtual cyberarsenal for possible use in a future information war. 1981 5 Feb. a23/3 A form of information warfare develops, with an escalation in the number of leaks, and with foreign intelligence establishments learning a great deal about America's military capabilities. 1993 A. Toffler & H. Toffler iv. xvi. 140 In the office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense there is a unit..whose primary task is weighing the relative strength of opposing military forces... This unit has shown a strong interest in information warfare and what might be called info-doctrine. 1997 (Electronic ed.) 25 May Police and the security services are increasingly worried about the potential of information warfare and are working to combat the threat. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022). <  n.a1387 |
