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enthymeme

[en-thuh-meem]
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noun Logic.
  1. a syllogism or other argument in which a premise or the conclusion is unexpressed.
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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
Related formsen·thy·me·mat·ic [en-thuh-mee-mat-ik] /ˌɛn θə miˈmæt ɪk/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for enthymeme

Historical Examples

  • “Socrates will die because all men are mortal” is an enthymeme.

    English: Composition and Literature

    W. F. (William Franklin) Webster

  • There is a certain variety in the use of the word Enthymeme among logicians.

  • Who ever reasoned better for having been taught the difference between a syllogism and an enthymeme?

  • The Enthymeme is a syllogism from Probabilities or Signs;77 the two being not exactly the same.

    Aristotle

    George Grote

  • But if the evidence be deductive, it will probably consist of an Enthymeme, or of several Enthymemes one depending on another.

    Logic

    Carveth Read

British Dictionary definitions for enthymeme

enthymeme

noun logic
  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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Derived Formsenthymematic or enthymematical, adjective

Word Origin

C16: via Latin from Greek enthumēma, from enthumeisthai to infer (literally: to have in the mind), from en- ² + thumos mind
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

Word Origin and History for enthymeme

n.

"a syllogism in which one premise is omitted," 1580s, from Latin enthymema, from Greek enthymema "thought, argument," from enthymesthai "to think, consider," literally "to keep in mind, take to heart," from en "in" (see en- (2)) + thymos "mind" (see fume (n.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper