enthymeme

American  

[en-thuh-meem] / ˈɛn θəˌmim /

noun

Logic.

1. a syllogism or other argument in which a premise or the conclusion is unexpressed.

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enthymeme British  

/ ˈɛnθɪˌmiːm /

noun

1. an incomplete syllogism, in which one or more premises are unexpressed as their truth is considered to be self-evident

2. any argument some of whose premises are omitted as obvious

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Other Word Forms

• enthymematic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of enthymeme

1580–90; < Latin enthȳmēma < Greek enthȳ́mēma thought, argument, equivalent to enthȳmē-, variant stem of enthȳmeîsthai to ponder ( en- en- ² + -thȳmeîsthai verbal derivative of thȳmós spirit, thought) + -ma noun suffix of result

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

enthymeme

So the enthymeme version of that would be "Aristotle is a man, therefore Aristotle is mortal."

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2014

“Elvis had to die sometime: all men are mortal” is an enthymeme rather than a syllogism, because it makes the assumption that Elvis was human, whereas anyone who has seen Men in Black knows otherwise.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Here the enthymeme, or example, which Aristotle has made the instrument of rhetoric, becomes the instrument of poetry.

From A History of Literary Criticism in the Renaissance With special reference to the influence of Italy in the formation and development of modern classicism by Joel Elias Spingarn

The speech used the enthymeme and the example as proofs, while the poem used the example to a greater, and the enthymeme to a lesser degree.

From Rhetoric and Poetry in the Renaissance A Study of Rhetorical Terms in English Renaissance Literary Criticism by Donald Lemen Clark

If I ever did bring every art into play, I did then—period, transition, enthymeme, deduction—everything.

From The Letters of Cicero, Volume 1 The Whole Extant Correspodence in Chronological Order by Evelyn S. Shuckburgh