I.Q.

I.Q. 1922, abbreviation of intelligence quotient, a 1921 translation of Ger. 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]