the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
<noun.cognition> it was not a good idea the thought never entered my mind
your intention; what you intend to do
<noun.cognition> he had in mind to see his old teacher the idea of the game is to capture all the pieces
a personal view
<noun.cognition> he has an idea that we don't like him
an approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth
<noun.cognition> an estimate of what it would cost a rough idea how long it would take
(music) melodic subject of a musical composition
<noun.communication> the theme is announced in the first measures the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it
Idea \I*de"a\, n.; pl. {Ideas}. [L. idea, Gr. ?, fr. ? to see; akin to E. wit: cf. F. id['e]e. See {Wit}.] 1. The transcript, image, or picture of a visible object, that is formed by the mind; also, a similar image of any object whatever, whether sensible or spiritual.
Her sweet idea wandered through his thoughts. --Fairfax.
Being the right idea of your father Both in your form and nobleness of mind. --Shak.
This representation or likeness of the object being transmitted from thence [the senses] to the imagination, and lodged there for the view and observation of the pure intellect, is aptly and properly called its idea. --P. Browne.
2. A general notion, or a conception formed by generalization.
Alice had not the slightest idea what latitude was. --L. Caroll.
3. Hence: Any object apprehended, conceived, or thought of, by the mind; a notion, conception, or thought; the real object that is conceived or thought of.
Whatsoever the mind perceives in itself, or as the immediate object of perception, thought, or undersanding, that I call idea. --Locke.
4. A belief, option, or doctrine; a characteristic or controlling principle; as, an essential idea; the idea of development.
That fellow seems to me to possess but one idea, and that is a wrong one. --Johnson.
What is now ``idea'' for us? How infinite the fall of this word, since the time where Milton sang of the Creator contemplating his newly-created world,
``how it showed . . . Answering his great idea,'' to its present use, when this person ``has an idea that the train has started,'' and the other ``had no idea that the dinner would be so bad!'' --Trench.
5. A plan or purpose of action; intention; design.
I shortly afterwards set off for that capital, with an idea of undertaking while there the translation of the work. --W. Irving.
6. A rational conception; the complete conception of an object when thought of in all its essential elements or constituents; the necessary metaphysical or constituent attributes and relations, when conceived in the abstract.
7. A fiction object or picture created by the imagination; the same when proposed as a pattern to be copied, or a standard to be reached; one of the archetypes or patterns of created things, conceived by the Platonists to have excited objectively from eternity in the mind of the Deity.
Thence to behold this new-created world, The addition of his empire, how it showed In prospect from his throne, how good, how fair, Answering his great idea. --Milton.
Note: ``In England, Locke may be said to have been the first who naturalized the term in its Cartesian universality. When, in common language, employed by Milton and Dryden, after Descartes, as before him by Sidney, Spenser, Shakespeare, Hooker, etc., the meaning is Platonic.'' --Sir W. Hamilton.
{Abstract idea}, {Association of ideas}, etc. See under {Abstract}, {Association}, etc.
Usage: There is scarcely any other word which is subjected to such abusive treatment as is the word idea, in the very general and indiscriminative way in which it is employed, as it is used variously to signify almost any act, state, or content of thought.
He notes that the idea has been used with other assets including stocks, options, real estate and art.
If more U.S. companies do get back into D-rams, say critics of the consortium idea, Japanese companies will just bring their advantages to bear on other chip products and markets, making a more wide-ranging industrial policy necessary.
It is understood Mr de Klerk opposes the idea of a deputy presidency, insisting on a more equal relationship between the leader of the majority party and others within the coalition.
Coca-Cola Enterprises "had to do something," said Jesse Meyers, publisher of Beverage Digest, a trade publication. "Dyson and others conceived the idea to build a network of bottlers.
"I came up with the Star Wars Deli idea to take advantage of the area _ that's the hot thing going on here.
The idea of a legal consumer-rights watchdog organization was hatched at a Washington cocktail party in 1978 by two Rhodes scholars, who then founded HALT.
For years, most local politicians have accepted the idea of a spit-and-polish force that is both efficient and cost-effective.
Employers see that eager recruiting among groups like women, minorities and the disabled will help, instead of "fighting" the idea, says Fred Alvarez, a Labor Department official.
Curtis Handson, a church maintenance worker in Prairie Village, said he had no idea he had a half brother he had not met.
Some have no idea of the degree of care lavished on them.
The idea to fast 24 hours in support of the hostages was conceived by Buffalo Area Metropolitan Ministries and was adopted enthusiastically by Peggy Say, Anderson's sister and the leader of efforts to free the hostages.
He has said Ronald Reagan's idea of a good farm program is "Hee-Haw."
State GOP Chairman Michael Vallante came out with the Republican T-shirt on Monday, but he says he had the idea all along but just got sidetracked about getting the shirts made up.
They include Jack Weeks, who came up with the idea during the presidential campaign of putting the governor in an M-1 tank wearing a helmet, a notion that even Kitty Dukakis says turned out to be humiliating.
But the whole idea of deep dilemmas for the U.S. flies in the face of common sense.
Like most Moscow intellectuals, he already has got used to the idea that just about anything non-pornographic that isn't an outright attack on established order can be safely printed in this country now.
Morocco's King Hassan appeared less supportive of the idea of sending in troops, officials said, although he too indicated a willingness to participate in some Arab force.
It's not the first time the idea of a tunnel has confronted Britain's island identity.
I've got some magic tricks and I throw out cheap novelties to the crowd." He also juggles bowling pins. "Four is the most I can do, and three is plenty." Fred Young often plays drums shirtless, borrowing the idea from other drummers he's seen.
It would help farmers who built up a valuable property from nothing and who now wish to retire, homeowners whose financial gains on a property sale exceed the deductible limit, entrepreneurs who created value out of an idea.
The girl told friends she got the idea of putting rat poison in the sandwich from the movie "Heathers," an R-rated black comedy featuring teen-age murder and a tight clique of popular girls, King County police said.
I'm not going to tell you what it is; just read it and call me back.' "When I opened the package and read `Arthur on the Rocks,' I said, `Oh, wait a minute, is this a good idea?'
"They said the idea (of an independent, French-speaking Quebec) was dead; it is alive," a jubilant Jacques Parizeau said Monday night.
That's not going to be easy; management in many cases hasn't got the foggiest idea.' A further aspect of the differences between Chinese and western operations is the way they evaluate their corporations financially.
Given stable commodity prices, he suggests, it may be a good idea to tighten credit so that "monetary policy grows at the midpoint" of the target ranges.
An amazing amount of people thought this was a crummy idea or that I and the others supporting it were silly.
"The idea is to abolish the curbs on a reciprocal basis so travel theoretically is permitted everywhere," an official said.
Initially lukewarm to the idea of parental choice when it comes to their child's school, Cavazos has since enthusiastically embaced what has become the centerpiece of Bush's education initiative.
Institutional investors like the idea that their returns will at least approximate the performance of the market.
'With Genoa's traditions as a seaport, the original idea was to create a big event concentrating on communications, especially on a cultural level,' Mr Roberto recalls.