Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
EXPERIENCE
I. noun see: fear
Date: 14th century
1. direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge, the fact or state of having been affected by or gained knowledge through direct observation or participation,
2. practical knowledge, skill, or practice derived from direct observation of or participation in events or in a particular activity, the length of such participation ,
3. the conscious events that make up an individual life, the events that make up the conscious past of a community or nation or humankind generally, something personally encountered, undergone, or lived through, the act or process of directly perceiving events or reality,
II. transitive verb (-enced; -encing)
Date: 1580
to learn by experience , to have experience of ; undergo