illation
English
WOTD – 23 July 2011
Etymology
From Latin illātiō (“logical inference, deduction, conclusion”), from illātus, perfect passive participle of inferō (“carry or bring into somewhere; conclude”), from in + ferō (“bear, carry; suffer”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/
Audio (UK) (file)
- (General American) IPA(key): /əˈleɪʃ(ə)n/
- Homophone: elation
Noun
illation (countable and uncountable, plural illations)
- The act of inferring or concluding, especially from a set of premises; a conclusion, a deduction.
- 1650, Thomas Browne, chapter I, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], OCLC 152706203, 1st book, page 2:
- Now herein there seems to be a very erroneous Illation: from the Indulgence of God unto Cain, concluding an immunity unto himself […]
- 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], OCLC 153628242:
- it so orders the intermediate Ideas, as to discover what Connection there is in each Link of the Chain, whereby the Extreams are held together; and thereby, as it were, to draw into View the Truth sought for, which is what we call Illation or Inference […]
- 1974, Guy Davenport, Tatlin!:
- Adriaan moved to Pierce’s American illation whereby an if begets a therefore, event by event, the javelin’s flight issuing from the web of contingencies in which we may locate the javelin and the javelineer […]
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Related terms
- illative
Translations
action of concluding or inferring
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