learned en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈlɝnd/ (US)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈlɝnɪd/ (US)
- /ˈlɜːnd/ (UK)
- /ˈlɜːnɪd/ (UK)
Etymology
From Middle English lerned, lernd, lernyd, equivalent to learn + -ed, which replaced the earlier lered (“taught”), from Old English (ġe)lǣred, past participle of lǣran (“to teach”). Learn formerly had the meaning “to teach”, which is now found only in nonstandard speech, as well as its standard meaning of “to learn”.
Meanings
-
Having much learning, knowledgeable, erudite; highly educated.
Learned both in the literatures of the Ancient Near East and in IE Studies, West wrote two compendia of parallels between Greek and other literatures.
2025 December 12, Tom Hercules Davies, “Horses, Wheels, Languages: Greek, Mesopotamian and Indic Epic on the Eurasian Steppe”, in The Classical Quarterly, volume 75, number 1, page 6:HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW used to be both the best-known poet in the English-speaking world and the most beloved, adored by the learned and the lowly ...
2011 Spring, Jill Lepore, “How Longfellow Woke the Dead”, in American Scholar, volume 80, number 2, pages 33–46:My learned Brother Cresswell directed the jury to make the calculation […]
1854, Charles Edward Pollock, Lake v. Plaxton, 156 Eng. Rep. 412 (Exch.) 414; 10 Ex. 199, 200 (Eng.)the learned Merlin, well could tell, / Vnder what coast of heauen the man did dwell […]
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:The book opens with the Time Traveler dining with learned peers in late 1800s England, where he is trying to convince them that he has invented a time machine.
2011 Feb, Jess Lourey, “A Pyramid Approach to Novel Writing”, in Writer, volume 124, number 2, pages 30–32:
- (formal) A courteous description used in various ways to refer to lawyers or judges.
-
Scholarly, exhibiting scholarship.
But our limits will not permit us to discuss the many important and curious questions respecting the science of government, to which this learned work invites attention.
1831 March, anonymous author, “The History of the Doric Race”, in The Edinburgh Review, volume LIII, number CV (book review), page 130:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| learnèd | alternative | lexicographic | |
| learnéd | alternative | lexicographic | |
| most learned | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more learned | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Antonyms
uncultured · uninformed · thick · ignorant · untutored · cimmerian · lay · uneducated · unknowing · innate · lewd · untaught · unwitting · benighted · ignorant · illiterate · uncultivated · simple · ill-informed · unlettered · unaware · unlearnt · unerudite · unenlightened · stupid · uneducated · ignorant · loreless · unmindful · nescient · unlearned · unread · untrained · unschooled · clueless · unlearned · foolish · unknowledgeable · oblivious · philistine · innocent · tenebrose · unscholarly · lack-learning · uncultivated
Deriveds
semi-learned borrowing (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · well-learned (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · learnedly (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · m'learned friends (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · book-learned (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · learned member (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · learned treatise (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · learned profession (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · semi-learned loan (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · learned society (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · semi-learned loanword (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · learned loan (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · learned loanword (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · learnedism (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · my learned friends (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · my learned friend (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · learned borrowing (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge)) · learnedness (terms derived from learned (having much knowledge))
Hyponyms
Relateds
wise · knowledge · wily · intelligent
Synonyms
sussed · knowledgeable · in the know · savvy · erudite · learned · brainy · switched on · erudite · knowledgeable · up on · clueful · scholarly · knowsome · educated · well-informed · knowledgeful · academical · cultivated · scholarly · smart · educated
Translations (77)
de gelehrt (having much learning) · de qualifiziert (having much learning) · bg учен (having much learning) · ga léannta (having much learning) · cmn 博學 /博学 (having much learning) · sk učený (having much learning) · ru эруди́рованный (having much learning) · ro erudit (having much learning) · yi לומדיש (having much learning) · pt sábio (having much learning) · hu tanult (having much learning) · la ērudītus (having much learning) · hu tudós (having much learning) · el λόγιος (having much learning) · de studiert (having much learning) · sh načitan (having much learning) · cmn 有學問 /有学问 (having much learning) · es letrado (having much learning) · ka ერუდირებული (having much learning) · it erudito (having much learning) · gd foghlaimte (having much learning) · pt instruído (having much learning) · fr érudit (having much learning) · sv lärd (having much learning) · ka განსწავლული (having much learning) · nn lærd (having much learning) · ia docte (having much learning) · pl uczony (having much learning) · ko 박식한 (having much learning) · de belehrt (having much learning) · eo klera (having much learning) · la litterātus (having much learning) · es ilustrado (having much learning) · gd fiosrach (having much learning) · fr savant (having much learning) · sv beläst (having much learning) · ru учёный (having much learning) · sh naučen (having much learning) · gd iùlmhor (having much learning) · chr ᎠᎦᏔᎿᎢ (having much learning) · cs učený (having much learning) · uga 𐎊𐎄𐎓 (having much learning) · pt culto (having much learning) · de akademisch (having much learning) · uk вче́ний (having much learning) · el εγγράμματος (having much learning) · sv kultiverad (having much learning) · gd sgoilearach (having much learning) · es docto (having much learning) · mk учен (having much learning) · es instruido (having much learning) · fi oppinut (having much learning) · sa पण्डित (having much learning) · sh učen (having much learning) · it istruito (having much learning) · it colto (having much learning) · txb ūwe (having much learning) · de gelehrsam (having much learning) · la doctus (having much learning) · sv bildad (having much learning) · nb lærd (having much learning) · pt douto (having much learning) · de gebildet (having much learning) · de fachkundig (having much learning) · el πολυμαθής (having much learning) · nl geleerd (having much learning) · fr instruit (having much learning) · ka სწავლული (having much learning) · ia erudite (having much learning) · it letterato (having much learning) · de fundiert (having much learning) · pt erudito (having much learning) · gd ionnsaichte (having much learning) · it dotto (having much learning) · uk уче́ний (having much learning) · ro învățat (having much learning) · hu művelt (having much learning)