Descartes
[ dey-kahrt; French dey-kart ]
/ deɪˈkɑrt; French deɪˈkart /
Save This Word!
Definition of Descartes
noun
Re·né [ruh-ney; French ruh-ney], /rəˈneɪ; French rəˈneɪ/, 1596–1650, French philosopher and mathematician.
QUIZ
WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?
Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!
Question 1 of 7
Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.
Words nearby Descartes
desaturation, desc., descale, descamisado, descant, Descartes, Descartes' law, Descartes, René, descend, descendant, descendent
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use Descartes in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for Descartes
Descartes
/ (ˈdeɪˌkɑːt, French dekart) /
noun
René (rəne). 1596–1650, French philosopher and mathematician. He provided a mechanistic basis for the philosophical theory of dualism and is regarded as the founder of modern philosophy. He also founded analytical geometry and contributed greatly to the science of optics. His works include Discours de la méthode (1637), Meditationes de Prima Philosophia (1641), and Principia Philosophiae (1644)
Other words from Descartes
Related adjective: CartesianCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for Descartes
Descartes
[ dā-kärt′ ]
French mathematician and philosopher who discovered that the position of a point can be determined by coordinates, a discovery that laid the foundation for analytic geometry.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.