- I.Q.
- 1922, abbreviation of intelligence quotient, a 1921 translation of German Intelligenz-quotient, coined 1912 by German psychologist William L. Stern (1871-1938).
Intelligence is a general capacity of an individual consciously to adjust his thinking to new requirements: it is general mental adaptability to new problems and conditions of life. [Stern, "The Psychological Methods of Testing Intelligence," 1914]
Earlier, i.q. was an abbreviation of Latin idem quod "the same as."
