conscious

Latin

con-scius

Knowing or aware; literally associated with knowing

Latin

conscīre

To be mutually aware or know thoroughly, from con- “with, together” + scīre “to know”

English, c. 1600

conscious

Aware, privy to; later especially aware inwardly or of a fact

English, 1630s

consciousness

Conscious + -ness, initially “internal knowledge”

English, 1670s

consciousness

State of being aware of what passes in one’s own mind

English, 1746

consciousness

State of being aware of anything generally

English, 1968

consciousness-raising

Attested in the sense of increasing awareness, especially social or political awareness

Modern English

consciousness

Word Ancestry

conscious

Latin

con-scius

Knowing or aware; literally associated with knowing

Latin

conscīre

To be mutually aware or know thoroughly, from con- “with, together” + scīre “to know”

English, c. 1600

conscious

Aware, privy to; later especially aware inwardly or of a fact

English, 1630s

consciousness

Conscious + -ness, initially “internal knowledge”

English, 1670s

consciousness

State of being aware of what passes in one’s own mind

English, 1746

consciousness

State of being aware of anything generally

English, 1968

consciousness-raising

Attested in the sense of increasing awareness, especially social or political awareness

Modern English

consciousness

“

A Roman who was conscius was not merely awake; he was “knowing with” someone, or perhaps knowing something thoroughly. The word was built from Latin con-, “with,” and scīre, “to know”—the same scīre that eventually gives English science, so consciousness and science are distant linguistic relatives. English adopted conscious around 1600, first with the rather intriguing sense “privy to,” including awareness of wrongdoing; by the 1630s, consciousness meant “internal knowledge.” Philosophers later made the word carry an enormous suitcase: in 1670s English it concerned the contents of one’s own mind, while by 1746 it could mean awareness of anything at all. The next time you notice your own thoughts noticing the world, you are standing inside a word whose oldest image is not solitary reflection but knowledge held together.

The Story

“

A Roman who was conscius was not merely awake; he was “knowing with” someone, or perhaps knowing something thoroughly. The word was built from Latin con-, “with,” and scīre, “to know”—the same scīre that eventually gives English science, so consciousness and science are distant linguistic relatives. English adopted conscious around 1600, first with the rather intriguing sense “privy to,” including awareness of wrongdoing; by the 1630s, consciousness meant “internal knowledge.” Philosophers later made the word carry an enormous suitcase: in 1670s English it concerned the contents of one’s own mind, while by 1746 it could mean awareness of anything at all. The next time you notice your own thoughts noticing the world, you are standing inside a word whose oldest image is not solitary reflection but knowledge held together.