Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To impart knowledge or skill to.
  • intransitive verb To provide knowledge of; instruct in.
  • intransitive verb To condition to a certain action or frame of mind.
  • intransitive verb To cause to learn by example or experience.
  • intransitive verb To advocate or preach.
  • intransitive verb To carry on instruction on a regular basis in.
  • intransitive verb To give instruction, especially as an occupation.
  • noun A teacher.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To point out; direct; show.
  • To show how (to do something); hence, to train: as, to teach a dog to beg; to teach a boy to swim.
  • To tell; inform; instruct; explain; show.
  • To impart knowledge or practical skill to; give instruction to; guide in learning; educate; instruct.
  • To impart a knowledge of; give instruction in; give lessons in; instruct or train in understanding, using, managing, handling, etc.: as, to teach mathematics or Greek.
  • Synonyms To enlighten, school, tutor, indoctrinate, initiate.
  • To impart, inculcate, instil, preach. See instruction.
  • To give instruction; give lessons as a preceptor or tutor; impart knowledge or skill; instruct.
  • noun Same as tache.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To impart the knowledge of; to give intelligence concerning; to impart, as knowledge before unknown, or rules for practice; to inculcate as true or important; to exhibit impressively
  • transitive verb To direct, as an instructor; to manage, as a preceptor; to guide the studies of; to instruct; to inform; to conduct through a course of studies.
  • transitive verb To accustom; to guide; to show; to admonish.
  • intransitive verb To give instruction; to follow the business, or to perform the duties, of a preceptor.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb obsolete, transitive To show (someone) the way; to guide, conduct.
  • verb transitive To pass on knowledge.
  • verb intransitive To pass on knowledge, especially as one's profession; to act as a teacher.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb impart skills or knowledge to
  • noun an English pirate who operated in the Caribbean and off the Atlantic coast of North America (died in 1718)
  • verb accustom gradually to some action or attitude

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English techen, from Old English tǣcan; see deik- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English techen, from Old English tǣċan ("to show, declare, demonstrate; teach, instruct, train; assign, prescribe, direct; warn; persuade"), from Proto-Germanic *taikijanan (“to show”), from Proto-Indo-European *deyǵe-, *deyḱe- (“to show, point out, declare, tell”). Cognate with Scots tech, teich ("to teach"), German zeigen ("to show, point out"), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍄𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌰𐌿 (gateihan, "to announce, declare, tell"), Latin dīcō ("speak, say, tell"), Ancient Greek δείκνυμι (deíknumi, "show, point out, explain, teach"). More at token.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Only life can teach,

    and learn from itself,

    and it does so in part, through man.

    --Jan Cox

    June 17, 2007

  • Those who can, do. Those who think others can, teach.

    February 27, 2010