instrucció

Instrucció is a Catalan noun that designates both the act of instructing and the result of that process. It commonly refers to education and training, the organized delivery of knowledge or skills, as well as to a set of rules, steps, or directions to follow in order to perform a task. The term can also appear in specialized contexts, where its meaning shifts toward guidance or procedure.

Etymology and related terms: instrucció derives from the Latin instructio, via medieval and romance languages. It has cognates in other Iberian languages, such as instrucción in Spanish and instrução in Portuguese, all sharing the core sense of teaching, guidance, or procedural instruction.

Main senses and uses: in everyday language, instrucció covers formal education (“instrucció primària”) and the provision of instruction or training within institutions or programs. It also appears in manuals and safety notices as the set of instructions for use (“instruccions d’ús” or “instruccions de seguretat”). In legal and administrative discourse, instrucció can denote a phase or process of investigation and evidentiary gathering, depending on the jurisdiction. In computing, plural “instruccions” refers to the commands executed by a processor or the instruction set of a computer system.

Usage notes: the plural form instruccions is common when listing steps or guidelines. The term is widely understood in Catalan-speaking regions such as Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Andorra, and parts of eastern Spain, as well as in related texts on education, law, and technology.