ad hoc

[ad hok; Latin ahd hohk]

adverb

for the special purpose or end presently under consideration: a committee formed ad hoc to deal with the issue.

adjective

concerned or dealing with a specific subject, purpose, or end: The ad hoc committee disbanded after making its final report.

Origin of ad hoc

First recorded in 1550–60, ad hoc is from the Latin word ad hōc for this

Can be confusedad hoc a posteriori a priori ex post facto prima facie

in hoc signo vinces

[in hohk sig-noh wing-keys; English in hok sig-noh vin-seez]

Latin.

in this sign shalt thou conquer: motto used by Constantine the Great, from his vision, before battle, of a cross bearing these words.

post hoc

[pohst hohk; English pohst hok]

adverb Latin.

after this; afterward.

Compare propter hoc.

post hoc, ergo propter hoc

[pohst hohk, er-goh prohp-ter hohk; English pohst hok, ur-goh prop-ter hok er-goh]

Latin.

after this, therefore because of it: a formula designating an error in logic that accepts as a cause something that merely occurred earlier in time.

propter hoc

[prawp-ter hawk; English prop-ter hok]

adverb Latin.

because of this.

Compare post hoc.

quoad hoc

[kwaw-ahd hohk; English kwoh-ad hok]

adverb Latin.

as much as this; to this extent.

et hoc genus omne

[et hohk ge-noo s ohm-ne; English et hok jee-nuh s om-nee]

Latin.

and all this (or that) sort of thing.

Also et id genus omne

[et id ge-noo s ohm-ne; English et id jee-nuh s om-nee] /ɛt ˈɪd ˈgɛ nʊs ˈoʊm nɛ; English ɛt ˈɪd ˈdʒi nəs ˈɒm ni/.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hoc

Historical Examples of hoc

Every day to wander out of doors till after nine, hoc non pergit.
Debts of Honor
Maurus Jkai
Hoc erat in votis, I should indeed have been happy to have had you for a guest.
Samuel Brohl & Company
Victor Cherbuliez
So to church they went; and Staines, whose motto was "Hoc age," minded his book.
A Simpleton
Charles Reade
But to introduce it into an old society, hic labor, hoc opus est!
Colloquies on Society
Robert Southey
For the principal characteristic of Essence is to be separable and Hoc Aliquid.
Aristotle
George Grote

British Dictionary definitions for hoc

ad hoc

adjective, adverb

for a particular purpose only; lacking generality or justificationan ad hoc decision; an ad hoc committee

Word Origin for ad hoc

Latin, literally: to this

post hoc

noun

logic the fallacy of assuming that temporal succession is evidence of causal relation

Word Origin for post hoc

from Latin, short for Post hoc ergo propter hoc after this, therefore on account of this

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 hoc

Latin, literally "this."

post hoc

Latin, "after this." Especially in post hoc, ergo propter hoc, logical fallacy, literally "after this, therefore because of this."

ad hoc

Latin, literally "for this (specific purpose)."

hoc in Culture

ad hoc

[(ad hok, ad hohk)]

A phrase describing something created especially for a particular occasion: “We need an ad hoc committee to handle this new problem immediately.” From Latin, meaning “toward this (matter).”

Idioms and Phrases with hoc

ad hoc

For the special purpose or end at hand; also, by extension, improvised or impromptu. The term, Latin for “to this,” is most often used for committees established for a specific purpose, as in The committee was formed ad hoc to address health insurance problems. The term is also used as an adjective (An ad hoc committee was formed), and has given rise to the noun adhocism for the tendency to use temporary, provisional, or improvised methods to deal with a particular problem. [Early 1600s]