Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Education \Ed`u*ca"tion\ (?; 135), n. [L. educatio; cf. F.
   ['e]ducation.]
   The act or process of educating; the result of educating, as
   determined by the knowledge skill, or discipline of
   character, acquired; also, the act or process of training by
   a prescribed or customary course of study or discipline; as,
   an education for the bar or the pulpit; he has finished his
   education.

         To prepare us for complete living is the function which
         education has to discharge.              --H. Spenser.

   Syn: {Education}, {Instruction}, {Teaching}, {Training},
        {Breeding}.

   Usage: Education, properly a drawing forth, implies not so
          much the communication of knowledge as the discipline
          of the intellect, the establishment of the principles,
          and the regulation of the heart. Instruction is that
          part of education which furnishes the mind with
          knowledge. Teaching is the same, being simply more
          familiar. It is also applied to practice; as, teaching
          to speak a language; teaching a dog to do tricks.
          Training is a department of education in which the
          chief element is exercise or practice for the purpose
          of imparting facility in any physical or mental
          operation. Breeding commonly relates to the manners
          and outward conduct.

Source : WordNet®

education
     n 1: the activities of educating or instructing or teaching;
          activities that impart knowledge or skill; "he received
          no formal education"; "our instruction was carefully
          programmed"; "good teaching is seldom rewarded" [syn: {instruction},
           {teaching}, {pedagogy}, {educational activity}]
     2: knowledge acquired by learning and instruction; "it was
        clear that he had a very broad education"
     3: the gradual process of acquiring knowledge; "education is a
        preparation for life"; "a girl's education was less
        important than a boy's"
     4: the profession of teaching (especially at a school or
        college or university)
     5: the result of good upbringing (especially knowledge of
        correct social behavior); "a woman of breeding and
        refinement" [syn: {training}, {breeding}]
     6: the United States federal department that administers all
        federal programs dealing with education (including federal
        aid to educational institutions and students); created
        1979 [syn: {Department of Education}, {Education
        Department}]