idea

Borrowed from Latin idea (“a (Platonic) idea; archetype”), from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to know; see”). Cognate with French idée. Doublet of idée. Related to idol, idolum, and eidolon.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /aɪ̯ˈdɪə̯/
  • (Southern England, triggers Intrusive R) IPA^(key): [ɑjˈdɪː(‿ɹ)]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /aɪ̯ˈdi.ə/, /aɪ̯ˈdiə/^[1][2]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • (US, Appalachia, r-epenthesis) IPA^(key): /aːˈdɪɹ/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /aɪ̯ˈdiə̯/, [ɑeˈdiə], [-ˈdeə]
• (Southern US, obsolete) IPA^(key): /aɪˈdiː/, /ˈa(ɪ)di/^[3][4]
• (Indic) IPA^(key): /ˈaɪɖɪa/
• Hyphenation: i‧dea, i‧de‧a
• Rhymes: -ɪə, -iːə

idea (plural ideas or (philosophy, rare) ideæ)

1. (philosophy) An abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect approximations; pure essence, as opposed to actual examples. [from 14th c.]
   • 2013 October 19, “Trouble at the lab”, in The Economist, volume 409, number 8858:

     The idea that the same experiments always get the same results, no matter who performs them, is one of the cornerstones of science’s claim to objective truth. If a systematic campaign of replication does not lead to the same results, then either the original research is flawed (as the replicators claim) or the replications are (as many of the original researchers on priming contend). Either way, something is awry.

2. (obsolete) The conception of someone or something as representing a perfect example; an ideal. [16th–19th c.]
3. (obsolete) The form or shape of something; a quintessential aspect or characteristic. [16th–18th c.]
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 6, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     The remembrance whereof (which yet I beare deepely imprinted in my minde) representing me her visage and Idea so lively and so naturally, doth in some sort reconcile me unto her.

4. An image of an object that is formed in the mind or recalled by the memory. [from 16th c.]

   The mere idea of you is enough to excite me.

5. More generally, any result of mental activity; a thought, a notion; a way of thinking. [from 17th c.]
   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter III, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.

   • 1952, Alfred Whitney Griswold, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     Ideas won't go to jail.

6. A conception in the mind of something to be done; a plan for doing something, an intention. [from 17th c.]

   I have an idea of how we might escape.

7. A purposeful aim or goal; intent

   Yeah, that's the idea.

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter III, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.

   • 2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71:

     Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.

8. A vague or fanciful notion; a feeling or hunch; an impression. [from 17th c.]

   He had the wild idea that if he leant forward a little, he might be able to touch the mountain-top.

9. (music) A musical theme or melodic subject. [from 18th c.]

• (mental transcript, image, or picture): image

• Tok Pisin: aidia
• → Burmese: အိုင်ဒီယာ (uingdiya)
• → Japanese: アイディア (aidia), アイデア (aidea)
• → Korean: 아이디어 (aidieo)
• → Thai: ไอเดีย (ai-diia)

• “idea”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “idea”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “idea”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “idea”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “idea”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
• “idea”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present.

• Adie, aide, daie

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”).

idea f (plural idees)

1. idea

• ideal

• ideia (dialectal, proscribed)

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [iˈðe.ə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [iˈðɛ.ə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [iˈðe.a]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

idea f (plural idees)

1. An idea, a mental representation of a real or imaginary thing

   La idea de justícia. ― The idea of justice.

2. An elementary or general notion of something

   No en tenia la més petita idea. ― I/She/He didn't have the slightest idea.

3. A concept to be realized, plan of action, purpose, intention

   M’agrada, la idea'! ― I like the idea!

4. The fundamental, substantial part of a doctrine, a reasoning, etc

   La idea cristiana. ― The Christian idea.

• Often pronounced as ideia.

• ideal
• idear
• ideari

• “idea”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “idea”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “idea” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “idea”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Inherited from Spanish idea (“idea”).

• IPA^(key): /iˈdea/, [iˈd̪e.a]
• Hyphenation: i‧de‧a

idea

1. idea

From English idea.

idea

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) idea; plan

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa), from εἴδω (eídō).

• IPA^(key): [ˈɪdɛa]

• Audio:

  (file)

idea f

1. idea (that which exists in the mind as the result of mental activity)

• “idea”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “idea”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “idea”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈideɑ/, [ˈide̞ɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ideɑ
• Syllabification^(key): i‧de‧a
• Hyphenation^(key): idea

idea

1. idea

   Synonyms: ajatus, oivallus

• “idea”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

• ideia (reintegrationist)

Learned borrowing from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”).

• IPA^(key): /iˈdɛa/ [iˈð̞ɛ.ɐ]
• Rhymes: -ɛa
• Hyphenation: i‧de‧a

idea f (plural ideas)

1. idea

• ideal

• “idea”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”). ^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈidɛɒ]
• Hyphenation: idea
• Syllabification: i‧de‧a
• Rhymes: -ɒ

idea (plural ideák)

1. (philosophy or formal) idea

   Synonyms: eszme, ötlet, gondolat

• idea in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

idea (plural ideas)

1. idea

• IPA^(key): /iˈdɛ.a/
• Rhymes: -ɛa
• Hyphenation: i‧dè‧a

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”).

idea f (plural idee)

1. idea

   buon'idea ― good idea

• ideale
• ideare
• ideazione
• ideo-

idea

1. inflection of ideare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• idea in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

• aedi

From Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”).

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɪ.de.a]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈiː.de.a]

idea f (genitive ideae); first declension

1. idea
   • 1719, Johann Jakob Brucker, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     Tentamen Introductionis in Historiam Doctrinae Logicae de Ideis

     An Essay Introducing the History of the Logical Doctrine of Ideas

2. prototype (Platonic)

First-declension noun.

• “idea”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "idea", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Borrowed from English idea, from Latin idea (“a (Platonic) idea; archetype”), from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”).

• (Standard Southern Peninsula) IPA^(key): /ˈajdiə/ [ˈai̯.djə] (English-based)
  • Rhymes: -ai̯djə, -ə

• (Standard Literary) IPA^(key): /iˈdea/ [iˈde.a]
• Hyphenation: i‧dea

idéa (Jawi spelling ايديا, plural idea-idea or idea²)

1. idea

• ide (Indonesia, Timor-Leste)

• ideja, idija

Borrowed from Italian idea.

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈdɛː.a/, /ɪˈdɛː.ja/
• Homophone: idejha (one pronunciation)
• Rhymes: -ɛːa, -ɛːja

idea f (plural ideat)

1. idea; thought; opinion

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈitea̯/

idea

1. idea

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

• Eino Koponen, Klaas Ruppel, Kirsti Aapala, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[2], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

Learned borrowing from Latin idea.

• IPA^(key): /iˈdɛ.a/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛa
• Syllabification: i‧de‧a

idea f (diminutive idejka)

1. idea (image of an object that is formed in the mind or recalled by the memory)

   Synonym: pomysł

2. (philosophy) idea (abstract archetype of a given thing, compared to which real-life examples are seen as imperfect)
3. keynote, mission statement

• “idea”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[3] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “idea”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[4] (in Polish)

Borrowed from Italian ideare.

a idea (third-person singular present ideează, past participle ideat) 1st conjugation

1. to invent, to conceive

Borrowed from Latin idea (“a (Platonic) idea; archetype”), from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”).

• IPA^(key): /idea/, [ˈidea]
• Rhymes: -ea
• Hyphenation: i‧de‧a

idea f (genitive singular idey, nominative plural idey, genitive plural ideí, declension pattern of idea)

1. idea (that which exists in the mind as the result of mental activity)

• “idea”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

• IPA^(key): /iˈdea/ [iˈð̞e.a]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ea
• Syllabification: i‧de‧a

Borrowed from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”), from εἴδω (eídō, “to see”). Compare Portuguese ideia.

• idéa (superseded)

idea f (plural ideas)

1. idea

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

idea

1. inflection of idear:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “idea”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

• ideya

Borrowed from Spanish idea, from Latin idea, from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “notion, pattern”).

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔideˈa/ [ʔɪ.d̪ɛˈa], /ʔiˈdea/ [ʔɪˈd̪ɛː.ɐ]
• Rhymes: -a, -ea
• Syllabification: i‧de‧a

ideá or idea (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜇᜒᜌ)

1. idea; opinion

   Synonyms: palagay, opinyon, kuro-kuro

2. plan; intention

   Synonyms: balak, layon, hangad

• “idea”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025
• “idea”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018