Insights

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An understanding derived from meticulous investigation or thought
2. A clear and accurate grasp of the true nature or significance of something ; the capacity to see and understand things quickly and deeply
3. The comprehension that comes from examining details and identifying important elements ; a strong power to recognize underlying truths or patterns

Etymology: "Insight" is a plain compound: "in-" joined to "sight," so it literally describes seeing into something. Middle English had "insight" and "insiht" meaning mental vision or understanding, and the idea of looking inward at a thing's workings was already built into the word by then. The more interesting thread runs through the older Old English form "insiht," which meant "narrative," "argument," or "account." Its Proto-Germanic ancestor, "insahtiz," carried the same sense of an account or argument, so the earliest meaning had little to do with vision at all. A story laid out in order was something one could look into, and over time the metaphor shifted from following an account to seeing into a matter directly. Cognates in West Frisian, Dutch, German, Danish, Swedish, and Icelandic show the same pattern, with words for "insight" built from the same "in-" and "sight" elements. Dutch "inzicht" and German "Einsicht" keep the sense of awareness or perception, so the mental-vision meaning appears to be shared across the family.

Synonyms: understandings, perceptions, realizations, awareness, knowledge

Antonyms: ignorance, misunderstandings, confusion, unawareness, delusion