percept

n. [ Cf. F. perceptibilité. ] 1. The quality or state of being perceptible; as, the perceptibility of light or color. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Perception. [ R. ] Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. perceptibilis: cf. F. perceptible. See Perceive. ] Capable of being perceived; cognizable; discernible; perceivable; large enough to be perceived; not so small as to be incapable of perception. [ 1913 Webster ]

With a perceptible blast of the air. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Per*cep"ti*ble*ness, n. -- Per*cep"ti*bly, adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. perceptio: cf. F. perception. See Perceive. ] 1. The act of perceiving; cognizance by the senses or intellect; apprehension by the bodily organs, or by the mind, of what is presented to them; discernment; apprehension; cognition. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Metaph.) The faculty of perceiving; the faculty, or peculiar part, of man's constitution by which he has knowledge through the medium or instrumentality of the bodily organs; the act of apperhending material objects or qualities through the senses; -- distinguished from conception. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Matter hath no life nor perception, and is not conscious of its own existence. Bentley. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The quality, state, or capability, of being affected by something external; sensation; sensibility. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

This experiment discovereth perception in plants. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. An idea; a notion. [ Obs. ] Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ “The word perception is, in the language of philosophers previous to Reid, used in a very extensive signification. By Descartes, Malebranche, Locke, Leibnitz, and others, it is employed in a sense almost as unexclusive as consciousness, in its widest signification. By Reid this word was limited to our faculty acquisitive of knowledge, and to that branch of this faculty whereby, through the senses, we obtain a knowledge of the external world. But his limitation did not stop here. In the act of external perception he distinguished two elements, to which he gave the names of perception and sensation. He ought perhaps to have called these perception proper and sensation proper, when employed in his special meaning.” Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. perceptif. ] 1. Of or pertaining to the act or power of perceiving; having the faculty or power of perceiving; used in perception. “His perceptive and reflective faculties.” Motley. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Possesing or exhibiting a high degree of understanding, insight, intuition, or analytical skill; as, he gave a perceptive analysis of the situation. [ PJC ]