Editing Gnosis (section)

== Etymology ==
''Gnosis'' is a feminine Greek noun which means "knowledge" or "awareness."<ref name=scotttufts>[[Liddell Scott]] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=gnwsis&la=greek#lexicon entry]
γνῶσις, εως, ἡ,
A. seeking to know, inquiry, investigation, esp. judicial, "τὰς τῶν δικαστηρίων γ." D.18.224; "τὴν κατὰ τοῦ διαιτητοῦ γdeetr." Id.21.92, cf. 7.9, Lycurg.141; "γ. περὶ τῆς δίκης" PHib.1.92.13 (iii B. C.).
2. result of investigation, decision, PPetr.3p.118 (iii B. C.).
II. knowing, knowledge, Heraclit.56; opp. ἀγνωσίη, Hp. Vict.1.23 (dub.); opp. ἄγνοια, Pl.R.478c; "ἡ αἴσθησις γ. τις" Arist.GA731a33: pl., "Θεὸς γνώσεων κύριος" LXX 1 Ki.2.3.
b. higher, esoteric knowledge, 1 Ep.Cor.8.7,10, Ep.Eph.3.19, etc.; "χαρισάμενος ἡμῖν νοῦν, λόγον, γνῶσιν" PMag.Par.2.290.
2. acquaintance with a person, "πρός τινα" Test. ap.Aeschin.1.50; "τῶν Σεβαστῶν" IPE1.47.6 (Olbia).
3. recognizing, Th.7.44.
4. means of knowing, "αἱ αἰσθήσεις] κυριώταται τῶν καθ᾽ ἕκαστα γ." Arist.Metaph.981b11.
III. being known, "γνῶσιν ἔχει τι", = "γνωστόν ἐστι", Pl.Tht.206b.
2. fame, credit, Hdn.7.5.5, Luc.Herod.3.
IV. means of knowing: hence, statement in writing, PLond.5.1708, etc. (vi A. D.).
V. = γνῶμα, [[Hsch.]] s. h. v.</ref> It is often used for personal knowledge compared with intellectual knowledge (εἴδειν ''eídein''), as with the [[French language|French]] ''connaître'' compared with ''savoir'', the [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''conhecer'' compared with ''saber'', the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''conocer'' compared with ''saber'', the [[Italian language|Italian]] ''conoscere'' compared with ''sapere'', the [[German language|German]] ''kennen'' rather than ''wissen'', or the Modern Greek γνωρίζω compared with ξέρω.<ref>
{{cite book|first=Elaine|last=Pagels|title=The Origin of Satan|year=1995|page=167|publisher=Allen Lane, The Penguin Press}}
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A related term is the adjective ''gnostikos'', "cognitive",<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=gnwstikos&la=greek#lexicon LSJ entry] '''γνωστ-ικός, ή, όν,'''
A. of or for knowing, cognitive: ἡ -κή (sc. ἐπιστήμη), theoretical science (opp. πρακτική), Pl.Plt.258b.c., etc.; τὸ γ. ib.261b; "ἕξεις γ." Arist.AP0.100a11 (Comp.); "γ. εἰκόνες" Hierocl.in CA25p.475M.: c. gen., able to discern, Ocell. 2.7. Adv. "-κῶς" Procl.Inst.39, Dam.Pr.79, Phlp.in Ph.241.22.</ref> a reasonably common adjective in Classical Greek.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/wordfreq?lang=greek&lookup=gnwstiko%2Fs In Perseus databank] 10x [[Plato]], Cratylus, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman 2x [[Plutarch]], Compendium libri de animae procreatione + De animae procreatione in Timaeo, 2x [[Pseudo-Plutarch]], De musica</ref> The terms do not appear to indicate any mystic, [[esoteric]] or hidden meaning in the works of [[Plato]], but instead expressed a sort of higher intelligence and ability analogous to talent.<ref>Cooper and Hutchinson. "Introduction to Politikos." Cooper, John M. & Hutchinson, D. S. (Eds.) (1997). Plato: Complete Works, Hackett Publishing Co., Inc. {{ISBN|0-87220-349-2}}.</ref>

{{blockquote|''Stranger:'' In this way, then, divide all science into two arts, calling the one practical (''praktikos''), and the other purely intellectual (''gnostikos'').<br/>''Younger Socrates:'' Let us assume that all science is one and that these are its two forms.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0172:text=Stat.:section=258e Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 12 translated by Harold N. Fowler. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.]</ref>|Plato's ''[[Statesman (dialogue)|Statesman]]'', 258e}}

In the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic era]] the term became associated with the mystery cults.

In the [[Acts of Thomas]], translated by [[G. R. S. Mead|G.R.S. Mead]], the "motions of gnosis" are also referred to as "kingly motions".<ref>George Robert Stow Mead, and Stephen Ronan. ''The Complete Echoes from the Gnosis''. London, Chthonios Books, 1987, p. 113.</ref>

[[Irenaeus]] used the phrase "knowledge falsely so-called" (''{{transliteration|grc|pseudonymos gnosis}}'', from 1 Timothy 6:20)<ref name="feminine nominative adjective">[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=yeudw%2Fnumos&la=greek&prior=yeudw/motos feminine nominative adjective]</ref> for the title of his book ''[[On the Detection and Overthrow of Knowledge Falsely So Called|On the Detection and Overthrow of False Knowledge]]'', that contains the adjective ''gnostikos'', which is the source for the 17th-century English term "[[Gnosticism]]".<ref>"Gnostic | Origin and meaning of the name Gnostic by Online Etymology Dictionary". ''www.etymonline.com''. Retrieved 2021-07-24</ref>