knowledge-intensive
Meaning
Requiring a large amount of specialized knowledge or expertise to perform or produce.
Structure
Usage
Software development is a knowledge-intensive industry requiring highly skilled engineers.
The shift towards a knowledge-intensive economy has increased demand for advanced education.
Their research and development department is the most knowledge-intensive part of the organization.
Etymology
The compound adjective 'knowledge-intensive' is a modern formation that follows a productive English pattern for describing economic or industrial sectors. The first element, 'knowledge,' originates from an Old English term for the fact or condition of knowing, which itself stems from a common Germanic verb for 'to know.' The second element, 'intensive,' derives from Latin roots meaning 'stretched' or 'strained,' evolving to signify a high degree or concentration of something. When combined, the morphemes create a term that logically describes an activity or process 'characterized by a high concentration of knowledge,' paralleling similar constructions like 'capital-intensive' or 'labor-intensive.' This reflects a contemporary conceptual shift where knowledge itself is quantified as a critical and dense input in production.
Analysis
- knowledge: From Middle English knowleche, from Old English cnāwlǣc (acknowledgment, confession), from cnāwan (to know) + -lǣc (suffix denoting action or practice). The root is of Germanic origin. - intensive: From Medieval Latin intensivus, from Latin intensus (stretched tight, intent, earnest), the past participle of intendere (to stretch out, strain, intend). The suffix -ive forms adjectives meaning "tending to" or "having the nature of."