Enformacioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Medieval English for the act of instructing someone or the teaching given ; the knowledge or news passed along to others ; a formal accusation or complaint lodged against a person
2. An old word for guidance or teaching offered to a learner ; facts or tidings conveyed from one person to another ; a legal charge or complaint brought against someone
3. In Middle English, the imparting of instruction ; the news or knowledge that is communicated ; an accusation or formal complaint made against an individual

Etymology: The Latin verb "informare" meant "to give shape to," from "in-" and "forma," "form." The idea was that a teacher shaped a pupil's mind, so giving form to someone's understanding came to mean teaching. Middle English "enformacioun" kept that sense of instruction, with the learner as the thing being shaped. The word reached English through Old French "enformacion," which had the same teaching sense, so it was borrowed rather than inherited from older English. Only later did English use the word for facts or knowledge about something, and eventually for the broad modern sense of information. This word preserves the older meaning of instruction.