wittenskip

West Frisian

Etymology

From witten +‎ -skip.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɪtn̩skɪp/

Noun

wittenskip c (plural wittenskippen)

1. knowledge, science, scholarship (collective discipline of learning acquired through any scholarly method; totality of knowledge)
2. any academic discipline; in general, the sciences and humanities taken as a whole

Usage notes

Wittenskip has a much broader meaning than the English word science. The English word science refers to systematically acquired, objective knowledge obtained through a particular methodology (such as the scientific method), and includes only natural sciences, social sciences, and formal sciences. In contrast, wittenskip also includes the humanities and philosophy and refers to learning and knowledge in general, whether obtained through scientific or non-scientific means. For example, writing a scholarly book about an author's life and works is wittenskip but not "science".

Derived terms

• foarwittenskip (“foreknowledge”)
• geasteswittenskip (“humanities”)
• godstsjinstwittenskip (“religious science”)
• helpwittenskip (“auxiliary science”)
• literatuerwittenskip (“literary science”)
• minskwittenskip (“human science”)
• natuerwittenskip (“natural science”)
• rjochtswittenskip (“legal science”)
• sosjale wittenskip (“social science”)
• taalwittenskip (“linguistics”)
• wittenskiplik (“scientific”)

 

Further reading

• “wittenskip”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011