See Also: intention(dictionary)
Intention(medicine)
intention(encyclopedia)
intention(dictionary)
Second Intention - Fencing(gambling)
intention spasm(medicine)
healing by third intention(medicine)
healing by second intention(medicine)
healing by first intention(medicine)
Intention tremor(medicine)

intention (iou)



intention noun. Also entention. LME.
[Old French entencion (mod. intention) from Latin intentio(n-), from intent- pa. ppl stem of intendere: see INTEND, -ION. A doublet of INTENSION.]
I. gen.
a. (Intense or concentrated) direction of or of the mind, attention, eyes, etc., to an object. arch. LME.
Jonson My soule..Is hurt with mere intention on their follies. M. Hale When thou prayest do it considerately, advisedly, with the whole Intention of thy Soul.
b. The action of stretching or making something tense. L16-M17.
The mind, the understanding; one's judgement or opinion. LME-E16.
Meaning, import. arch. LME.
The action or fact of intending to do a thing; what one intends to do, one's aim or design. Also, the purpose of an action etc. LME.
M. Keane None of them showed the smallest intention of getting out of the car. A. Schlee Absently or with some intention, he had let his hand fall on the back of it. Which? Overall, the intention is to leave pensioners' benefit entitlement broadly unchanged.
b. In pl. Intended mode of behaviour, esp. (colloq.) towards a woman in respect of marriage. L18.
T. Capote Mr. Bell, entirely unaware of his guests' intentions, which included throttling him with a belt.., was glad to have company. A. Brookner So delicate a suitor is Lautner that Mimi has no idea of his intentions.
c. An author's aim or intended meaning in a literary work. M20.
Intensification. E17-M18.
II. spec.
Medicine. An aim in a healing process; a method of treatment. arch. exc. in first intention (a), second intention (a) below. LME.
Scholastic Logic. A concept formed by directing the mind towards an object. Usually in first intention (b), second intention (b) below. M16.
Roman Catholic Church.
a. The special object for which a mass is celebrated, an intercession offered, etc. L16.
b. The serious purpose, on the part of the celebrant, to perform the rites prescribed by the Church (regarded as essential to the validity of the sacrament). M19.
Phrases: first intention (a) Medicine the healing of a wound by natural union of the parts without granulation; (b) Scholastic Logic a primary concept, formed by the direct application of the mind to the thing itself, e.g. the concepts of a tree, an oak. honourable intentions: see HONOURABLE adjective. particular intention Roman Catholic Church = sense 8a above. second intention (a) Medicine the healing of a wound by granulation after suppuration; (b) Scholastic Logic a secondary concept, formed by the application of the mind to first intentions in their relations to each other, e.g. the concepts of genus, species, difference, identity. special intention Roman Catholic Church = sense 8a above.
Comb.: intention movement a movement by an animal serving simply to signal that a further movement will follow; intention tremor: manifested whenever a movement is attempted, freq. a consequence of brain damage.