noosphere

noun

noo·​sphere ˈnō-ə-ˌsfir How to pronounce noosphere (audio)
: the sphere of human consciousness and mental activity especially in regard to its influence on the biosphere and in relation to evolution

Examples of noosphere in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The Double Literacy Revolution: A New Human Competency But to reveal its power the noosphere requires more than traditional literacy. Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French noosphère, from Greek noo-, combining form of nóos, contracted noûs "mind, intellect" (of uncertain origin) + French -sphère -sphere

Note: Probably first used by Pierre teilhard de chardin in a 1925 essay "L'hominisation," published in La vision du passé (Paris, 1957), volume 3 of his Oeuvres, p. 89. The genesis of the word is also associated with the French philosopher and mathematician Édouard Le Roy and the Russian-Ukrainian geochemist Vladimir Ivanovič Vernadskij, with whom Teilhard was in contact at the time.

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of noosphere was in 1930

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Cite this Entry

“Noosphere.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noosphere. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.

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