conscience

noun
/ˈkɒn.ʃəns/UK/ˈkɑn.ʃəns/US

Etymology

From Middle English conscience, from Old French conscience, from Latin conscientia (“knowledge within oneself”), from consciens, present participle of conscire (“to know, to be conscious (of wrong)”), from com- (“together”) + scire (“to know”).

  1. derived from conscientia
  2. derived from conscience
  3. inherited from conscience

Definitions

  1. The ethical or moral sense of right and wrong, chiefly as it affects a person’s own…

    The ethical or moral sense of right and wrong, chiefly as it affects a person’s own behaviour and forms their attitude to their past actions.

    • Your conscience is your highest authority.
    • 1949, Albert Einstein, as quoted by Virgil Henshaw in Albert Einstein: Philosopher Scientist, Never do anything against conscience, even if the state demands it.
    • As for Grierson, he poured liquor into himself as if it were so much soothing syrup, demonstrating that a good digestion is the highest form of good conscience.
  2. A personification of the moral sense of right and wrong, usually in the form of a person,…

    A personification of the moral sense of right and wrong, usually in the form of a person, a being or merely a voice that gives moral lessons and advices.

  3. Consciousness

    Consciousness; thinking; awareness, especially self-awareness.

    • Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at conscience. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01conscience02self-awareness03trait04provides05provide06stipulate07guarantee08obligation

A definitional loop anchored at conscience. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at conscience

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA