existential quantifier

American

noun

Logic.

a quantifier indicating that the sentential function within its scope is true for at least one value of the variable included in the quantifier.

existential quantifier British

noun

logic a formal device, for which the conventional symbol is ∃, which indicates that the open sentence that follows is true of at least one member of the relevant universe of interpretation, as (∃ x ) Fx meaning "something is (an) F," "something Fs," or "there are (some) Fs."

"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

Etymology

Origin of existential quantifier

First recorded in 1935–40

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023