conscience
Meaning
A person's moral sense of right and wrong, viewed as acting as a guide to one's behaviour.
A feeling of guilt or anxiety, occurring when one acts against this moral sense.
Structure
Usage
Her conscience wouldn't allow her to keep the money she had found.
He was haunted by a guilty conscience after telling the lie.
The charity appeal was aimed at the conscience of the nation.
Etymology
The word "conscience" originates from the Latin conscientia, meaning "knowledge within oneself, a moral sense". This Latin term is a compound of the prefix con- ("with") and the root scire ("to know"), literally translating to "with knowledge" or "shared knowledge". The concept evolved from the idea of an inner awareness or a knowledge one shares with oneself, specifically regarding the moral quality of one's own actions. Over time, this "inner knowing" became specialized in English to denote the faculty which judges the self, distinguishing right from wrong and prompting feelings of guilt or virtue.
Analysis
con: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "with" or "together". sci: Latin origin, from the root scire, meaning "to know". ence: Latin origin, a noun-forming suffix indicating a state or quality.