Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Intension \In*ten"sion\, n. [L. intensio: cf. F. intension. See
{Intend}, and cf. {Intention}.]
1. A straining, stretching, or bending; the state of being
strained; as, the intension of a musical string.
2. Increase of power or energy of any quality or thing;
intenseness; fervency. --Jer. Taylor.
Sounds . . . likewise do rise and fall with the
intension or remission of the wind. --Bacon.
3. (Logic & Metaph.) The collective attributes, qualities, or
marks that make up a complex general notion; the
comprehension, content, or connotation; -- opposed to
{extension}, {extent}, or {sphere}.
This law is, that the intension of our knowledge is
in the inverse ratio of its extension. --Sir W.
Hamilton.
Source : WordNet®
intension
n : what you must know in order to determine the reference of an
expression [syn: {connotation}]