Brainstorming

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A method for cultivating a wide array of ideas and innovative solutions through collaborative discussions among a group of people
2. A collaborative approach to idea generation that seeks to maximize creativity by allowing unfiltered contributions from participants
3. A technique involving group discussion aimed at generating diverse ideas and solving problems through open and spontaneous contributions from participants

Etymology: Brainstorming is a plain compound: "brain" plus "storm," with the "-ing" suffix added afterwards to turn the compound into a noun. The image of a storm inside the head is the key to the whole word. "Brain" comes from Old English "bræġn," and "storm" is an older English word, so nothing in the word's makeup was borrowed from another language. The verb "brainstorm" was formed from these two parts, and the noun "brainstorming" followed from it. The sense that matters is the one familiar today: a group setting in which people throw out ideas freely, without criticism, to generate solutions. The metaphor treats the mind as a place where ideas arrive suddenly and in quantity, like a sudden burst of weather.

Synonyms: ideation, thought shower, mind mapping