topic

[ top-ik ]
See synonyms for: topictopics on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a subject of conversation or discussion: to provide a topic for discussion.

  2. the subject or theme of a discourse or of one of its parts.

  1. Rhetoric, Logic. a general field of considerations from which arguments can be drawn.

  2. Also called theme. Linguistics. the part of a sentence that announces the item about which the rest of the sentence communicates information, often signaled by initial position in the sentence or by a grammatical marker.: Compare comment (def. 7).

Origin of topic

1
First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin topica (plural), from Greek (tà) topiká name of work by Aristotle (literally, “(things) pertaining to commonplaces),” equivalent to tóp(os) “commonplace” + -ika, neuter plural of -ikos-ic; see topo-

synonym study For topic

2. See subject.

Other words for topic

Words Nearby topic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use topic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for topic

topic

/ (ˈtɒpɪk) /


noun
  1. a subject or theme of a speech, essay, book, etc

  2. a subject of conversation; item of discussion

  1. (in rhetoric, logic, etc) a category or class of arguments or ideas which may be drawn on to furnish proofs

Origin of topic

1
C16: from Latin topica translating Greek ta topika, literally: matters relating to commonplaces, title of a treatise by Aristotle, from topoi, pl of topos place, commonplace

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012