(a) Discretion, prudence, or good judgment in temporal matters; the cardinal virtue of prudence; also person.; wit and ~; (b) spiritual insight or wisdom, apprehension of spiritual truth; also in fig. context; also person.; wisdomes gest (lore, leme); (c) practicality, common sense; astuteness, cunning; mere cleverness, bogus wisdom, limited knowledge; ~ of men (the world), ertheli (fleshlich) ~, worldes ~, etc.

(a) Soundness of judgment, sagacity, prudence, etc. as an attribute of a person; an ability to exercise judgment or prudence, a gift or faculty of discretion; ~ or wit, wit and ~; mid ~, prudently; also, with due caution [quot. c1275]; connen ~, to have the capacity for abstract reasoning, possess good judgment; (b) the gift of spiritual or moral understanding, spiritual insight as an attribute of a person; also, moral uprightness of intellect, a virtuous cast of thought, strong-mindedness; mid ~, with or by means of spiritual strength of mind; connen (of) ~, to be spiritually insightful, apprehend spiritual truth; (c) cleverness; an intellectual faculty or gift, a mental skill or ability; also, mere intellectual ability, spurious or morally bankrupt wisdom, sophistry; (d) skill at a craft or discipline, specialized learning; also glossing L Minerva as the patroness of applied arts; (e) your ~ (wisdomes), as a form of respectful address to a person or persons [cp. discrecioun n. 4., mageste n. 2.(a), reverence n. 3.(d), etc.].

(a) As an attribute of God or Christ: supreme wisdom; perfect judgment; also, foreknowledge, omniscience; right ~, true wisdom, true judgment;—?from misreading of right-wise dom [cp. right-wis(e adj. 2.(a)]; (b) as an identification, a title, or name of one of the three persons of the Trinity, usu. Christ; ~ of the fader, the faderes (goddes) ~, etc.

(a) An act displaying prudence or discretion, a show of good judgment; behavior or a course of action embodying prudence, discretion, etc.; also, a clever or sensible act, behavior demonstrating good sense, practical wisdom, etc.; don (occupien, etc.) ~; (b) an act displaying spiritual insight; behavior embodying spiritual wisdom or moral upright intellection; soth ~, the truly wise course, a righteous act.

(a) Transmitted wisdom, wise teaching regarding temporal matters; sound advice; also, a piece of good advice, a wise saying; a sage observation; seien ~, speken (tellen) wisdomes, etc.; (b) specifically religious teaching, transmitted doctrine or dogma; also person. [quot. a1400]; also, a revelation of spiritual truth, an insight; a religious injunction or precept; (c) ?a clever plan, an agreed-upon counsel; (d) lore, specialized knowledge; a body of knowledge, a particular art or science; also, a particular piece of information [2nd quot.]; also, the highest intellectual discipline or aspect of a discipline, the most profound understanding of a discipline [quots. c1454]; ~ of assai, ?information obtained by analysis or examination; kindeli ~, natural philosophy, the natural sciences; lute of ~, alchemists’ cement; (e) ~ bok, the bok of ~, se ~, the Biblical book of Wisdom; holi ~, scripture in general, holy writ.

In misc. senses: (a) signification, sense;—translating OF sens; (b) in the ~ of him, in ignorance regarding him (i.e., wisdom);—from misconstruing of L insipientiam as in sapientiam; (c) glossing L calodemones [cp. wished(e n. (b)].

As surname; also, as surname of allegorical figure [last quot.].