Search Result for "edify": 
Wordnet 3.0

VERB (1)

1. make understand;
- Example: "Can you enlighten me--I don't understand this proposal"
[syn: enlighten, edify]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Edify \Ed"i*fy\, v. i. To improve. [R.] --Swift. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Edify \Ed"i*fy\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Edified; p. pr. & vb. n. Edifying.] [F. ['e]difier, L. aedificare; aedes a building, house, orig., a fireplace (akin to Gr. ? to burn, Skr. idh to kindle, OHG. eit funeral pile, AS. [=a]d, OIr. aed fire) + facere to make. See Fact, -fy.] 1. To build; to construct. [Archaic] [1913 Webster] There was a holy chapel edified. --Spenser. [1913 Webster] 2. To instruct and improve, especially in moral and religious knowledge; to teach. [1913 Webster] It does not appear probable that our dispute [about miracles] would either edify or enlighten the public. --Gibbon. [1913 Webster] 3. To teach or persuade. [Obs.] --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

edify v 1: make understand; "Can you enlighten me--I don't understand this proposal" [syn: enlighten, edify]