Quote Originally Posted by Eric C. View Post
Am I wrong?
Of course, you are wrong. All depend on context. "Intellectual" means not only abilities, but rich knowledge too. In Russian you can't call "intellectual" a person, who doesn't know, for example, the history of the UK (I mean elementary facts about it) and so on. Only if you want to make fun of him. Although this person can be professional. Like a "professional plumber", for instance. Also in Russian "intellectual" often implies an "erudite person".