An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

A property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity.
Machines: The ability of a device, program, or system to solve problems more automatically or more skillfully than competitive systems.

From O.Fr. intelligence, from L. intelligentia "understanding," from intelligentem (nom. intelligens) "discerning," pr.p. of intelligere "to understand, comprehend," from → inter- "between" + legere "choose, pick out, read;" PIE base *leg- "to pick together, gather, collect;" cf. Gk. legein "to say, tell, speak, declare," originally, in Homer "to pick out, select, collect, enumerate;" lexis "speech, diction;" logos "word, speech, thought."

Huš, from Mid.Pers. hôš "intellect, understanding; mind," from Av. uši- "intelligence, understanding; mind," uši.darθra- "holding in mind."

The scientific attempt to detect → intelligent extraterrestrial → life by surveying the sky to find the existence of → transmissions, especially → radio waves or → light, from a → civilization on a distant → planet. The SETI Institute, that carries out the project, is a private non-profit center founded in 1984. There are many methods that SETI scientific teams use to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Many of these search billions of radio frequencies that reach Earth from all over the → Universe, looking for an intelligent → radio signal. Other SETI teams search by looking for signals in pulses of light emanating from the stars.

→ search; → extraterrestrial; → intelligence.