Ignoraunce

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The state of lacking knowledge, learning or awareness about a subject ; a deliberate refusal to recognize or take in facts that are known
2. Being unlearned or uninformed about matters that one ought to understand ; a stubborn choice to remain unaware of what is obvious
3. An absence of education or understanding in general ; the act of purposely shutting one's eyes to truths that are available

Etymology: "Ignoraunce" is the older spelling of "ignorance," a form that English speakers used in the Middle Ages before spelling settled. It came into Middle English from Old French "ignorance," which itself descends from the Latin "ignōrantia," meaning a lack of knowledge. The Latin noun is built from "ignōrāre," "to not know," and the suffix "-antia," which turns a verb-based idea into a noun for a state or quality. So the word is essentially a noun describing the condition of not knowing. The spelling "ignoraunce" shows the vowel and consonant pattern English writers used in the period, with an extra "u" that was common in Middle English and Anglo-Norman spellings of words borrowed through French. Modern English has dropped it, but the root remains visible: "ignore" and "ignorant" come from the same Latin verb and noun family.