manthanein

Manthanein (μανθάνειν) is an ancient Greek verb meaning to learn, understand, or come to know. It denotes the active process of acquiring knowledge—through study, instruction, practice, or inquiry—rather than simply possessing knowledge. In classical usage, it sits conceptually near oida (to know) and epistēmē (knowledge or science), often emphasizing the method and experience by which knowledge is attained.

Etymology and form: The term is the present active infinitive of the verb manthanein. It appears in various tenses and moods throughout Greek literature, especially in philosophical, educational, and rhetorical contexts of the classical period.

Philosophical significance: In Plato and Aristotle, manthanein is central to education and epistemology. For Plato, learning involves disciplined inquiry and, in some accounts, recollection (anamnesis) that leads the soul toward truth. In Aristotle, learning is the acquisition of reliable knowledge through demonstration, reasoning from first principles, and the cultivation of good intellectual habits. Across these thinkers, manthanein marks the process by which belief is refined into justified knowledge.

Modern reception: The term is studied in the context of ancient theories of cognition, pedagogy, and epistemology, illustrating distinctions Greek thinkers drew between the act of learning and the state of knowing. In lexical studies, standard references such as the Liddell-Scott-Jones Greek-English Lexicon provide the primary reconstructions of its usage and nuance.