idea

Etymology

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

noun

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.
   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. 2013-10-19, “Trouble at the lab”, in The Economist, volume 409, number 8858
2. (obsolete) The conception of someone or something as representing a perfect example; an ideal.
3. (obsolete) The form or shape of something; a quintessential aspect or characteristic.
4. An image of an object that is formed in the mind or recalled by the memory.
   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.
   Ideas won't go to jail. 1952, Alfred Whitney Griswold, (Please provide the book title or journal name)
6. A conception in the mind of something to be done; a plan for doing something, an intention.
   I have an idea of how we might escape.
7. A purposeful aim or goal; intent
   Yeah, that's the idea.
   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. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 3, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
   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. 2013-06-01, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71
8. A vague or fanciful notion; a feeling or hunch; an impression.
   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.