instruction

English

Etymology

From Middle English instruccioun, from Old French instruccion, from Latin instructio; equivalent to instruct +‎ -ion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌkʃən

Noun

instruction (countable and uncountable, plural instructions)

1. (uncountable) The act of instructing, teaching, or providing with information or knowledge.

   Students receive instruction in the arts and sciences.

   Instruction will be provided on how to handle difficult customers.

   • 1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 5, in Pulling the Strings:

     Anstruther laughed good-naturedly. “[…] I shall take out half a dozen intelligent maistries from our Press and get them to give our villagers instruction when they begin work and when they are in the fields.”

2. (countable) An instance of the information or knowledge so furnished.
   • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:

     If my instructions may be your guide.

3. (countable) An order or command.
   • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:

     Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.

4. (in the plural) A set of directions provided by a manufacturer for the users of a product or service.
5. (law, in the plural) The directions given by a client to their lawyer in relation to a particular legal matter, which govern the purpose and scope of their work.

   I cannot act until I have taken instructions from my client.

6. (computing) A single operation of a processor defined by an instruction set architecture.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:instruction

Derived terms

• absolute instruction
• instructional
• instruction cycle
• instructionless
• instruction time
• machine instruction
• macroinstruction
• malinstruction
• medium of instruction
• microinstruction
• misinstruction
• nanoinstruction
• noninstruction
• ostrich instruction
• overinstruction
• postinstruction
• preinstruction
• pseudoinstruction
• reinstruction
• subinstruction
• teleinstruction
• universal design for instruction

 

Translations

act of instructing, teaching, or furnishing with knowledge; information

• Afrikaans: onderrig
• Arabic: تَعْلِيم (ar) m (taʕlīm)
• Bengali: তালিম (bn) (talim)
• Bulgarian: обучение (bg) n (obučenie), инструктаж (bg) m (instruktaž)
• Catalan: instrucció (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 教導 / 教导 (zh) (jiàodǎo)

• Danish: vejledning c
• Dutch: onderwijs (nl) n
• Egyptian: (sbꜣyt f)
• Esperanto: instruado
• Finnish: opastus (fi), opettaminen (fi), ohjaaminen (fi)
• French: instruction (fr) f
• German: Unterricht (de) m
• Greek: οδηγία (el) f (odigía), εκπαίδευση (el) f (ekpaídefsi), εντολή (el) f (entolí), κατάρτιση (el) f (katártisi)
• Hebrew: הוראה (he) f (Hora'ah)
• Hindi: तालीम (hi) f (tālīm), उपदेश (hi) m (updeś), शिक्षण (hi) m (śikṣaṇ)
• Hungarian: útmutatás (hu), oktatás (hu), tanítás (hu), képzés (hu), kiképzés (hu), tanfolyam (hu)
• Indonesian: instruksi (id)
• Irish: teagasc m
• Italian: istruzione (it) f, addestramento (it) m, insegnamento (it) m, tirocinio (it) m
• Kazakh: нұсқаулық (nūsqaulyq)
• Kyrgyz: нускама (nuskama)
• Latin: īnstructiō f, doctrina f, disciplina f, auditio
• Malay: arahan (ms)
• Malayalam: നിർദ്ദേശം (niṟddēśaṁ)
• Marathi: शिक्षण n (śikṣaṇ)
• Norwegian: veiledning
• Persian: آموزه (fa), آموزش (fa)
• Portuguese: instrução (pt) f
• Romanian: instruire (ro) f, învățare (ro) f, învățământ (ro) n
• Russian: инстру́кция (ru) f (instrúkcija), инструкта́ж (ru) m (instruktáž), наставле́ние (ru) n (nastavlénije), обуче́ние (ru) n (obučénije)
• Sanskrit: शिक्षण (sa) n (śikṣaṇa)
• Scottish Gaelic: stiùireadh m, teagasg m
• Swahili: agizo (sw)
• Swedish: instruktion (sv) c, undervisning (sv) c, skolväsen (sv) n or c
• Tocharian B: keklyauṣor
• Urdu: اُپْدیش (ur) m (updeś)

that which instructs, or with which one is instructed

• Bulgarian: инструкция (bg) f (instrukcija), указание (bg) n (ukazanie)
• Danish: vejlederen c
• Finnish: opastus (fi), ohje (fi)
• German: Anweisung (de) f
• Greek: οδηγία (el) f (odigía), συμβουλή (el) f (symvoulí)
• Hindi: सूचना (hi) (sūcnā), विज्ञप्ति (hi) (vijñapti)
• Irish: treoir f
• Marathi: सूचना f (sūcnā)
• Portuguese: instrução (pt) f
• Romanian: instrucțiune (ro) f, indicație (ro) f, învățătură (ro) f, îndrumare (ro) f
• Russian: инстру́кция (ru) f (instrúkcija), (usually plural) указа́ние (ru) n (ukazánije), (usually plural) предписа́ние (ru) n (predpisánije), (usually plural) распоряже́ние (ru) n (rasporjažénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: stiùireadh m, teagasg m
• Spanish: instrucción (es)
• Swedish: instruktör (sv) c

order or command

• Afrikaans: instruksie
• Bulgarian: директива (bg) f (direktiva)
• Catalan: encàrrec (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: aanwijzing (nl) f
• Esperanto: komando, instrukcio
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: käyttöohje (fi)
• French: instruction (fr) f
• German: Anweisung (de) f
• Hindi: हुक्म (hi) m (hukma), आदेश (hi) (ādeś), निर्देश (hi) (nirdeś), आज्ञा (hi) (ājñā)
• Hungarian: utasítás (hu), rendelkezés (hu), parancs (hu)
• Indonesian: instruksi (id)
• Japanese: 指示 (ja) (しじ, shiji)
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Malayalam: നിർദ്ദേശം (niṟddēśaṁ)
• Marathi: हुकूम m (hukūm)
• Palauan: llach
• Persian: دستور (fa), فرمان (fa)
• Swahili: agizo (sw) class 5/6

single operation of a processor

• Afrikaans: instruksie
• Bulgarian: инструкция (bg) (instrukcija)
• Catalan: instrucció (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: instrukce (cs) f
• Dutch: instructie (nl) f
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: käsky (fi)
• German: Assemblerbefehl m
• Greek: εντολή (el) f (entolí)
• Hebrew: הוראה (he) f (Hora'ah)
• Hindi: आदेश (hi) (ādeś)
• Hungarian: utasítás (hu)
• Indonesian: instruksi (id)
• Irish: treoir f
• Italian: istruzione (it) f
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Marathi: इंस्ट्रक्शन n (iusṭrakśan)
• Persian: راهنمال
• Portuguese: instrução (pt) f
• Romanian: instrucțiune (ro) f
• Russian: инстру́кция (ru) f (instrúkcija)
• Swahili: agizo (sw)
• Swedish: instruktion (sv) c

set of directions provided by a manufacturer

• Afrikaans: instruksies
• Bulgarian: инструкция (bg) f (instrukcija)
• Finnish: käyttöohje (fi)
• Hindi: निर्देश (hi) (nirdeś)
• Hungarian: használati utasítás (hu)
• Italian: bugiardino (it) m, istruzioni d'uso f pl, manuale d'uso m, manuale (it) m, avvertenze (it) f pl, direttive (it) f pl
• Japanese: 説明書 (せつめいしょ, setsumei-sho), 使用説明 (しようせつめい, shiyō setsumei)
• Marathi: सूचना f (sūcnā)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} instruo
• Volapük: ^{(please verify)} tid (vo)

References

• “instruction”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

French

Etymology

From Latin īnstrūctiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃s.tʁyk.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

instruction f (plural instructions)

1. instruction
2. teaching
3. hearing (of a matter in court or similar)

Derived terms

• juge d’instruction

Related terms

• instruire

Further reading

• “instruction”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.