ad hoc
[ad hok; Latin ahd hohk]
- for the special purpose or end presently under consideration: a committee formed ad hoc to deal with the issue.
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- concerned or dealing with a specific subject, purpose, or end: The ad hoc committee disbanded after making its final report.
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Origin of ad hoc
First recorded in 1550–60, ad hoc is from the Latin word ad hōc for this
in hoc signo vinces
[in hohk sig-noh wing-keys; English in hok sig-noh vin-seez]
- in this sign shalt thou conquer: motto used by Constantine the Great, from his vision, before battle, of a cross bearing these words.
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post hoc
[pohst hohk; English pohst hok]
- after this; afterward.
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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]
- 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.
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propter hoc
[prawp-ter hawk; English prop-ter hok]
- because of this.
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Compare post hoc.
quoad hoc
[kwaw-ahd hohk; English kwoh-ad hok]
- as much as this; to this extent.
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et hoc genus omne
[et hohk ge-noo s ohm-ne; English et hok jee-nuh s om-nee]
- and all this (or that) sort of thing.
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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. 2018
Examples from the Web for hoc
Historical Examples
Every day to wander out of doors till after nine, hoc non pergit.
Debts of HonorMaurus Jkai
Hoc erat in votis, I should indeed have been happy to have had you for a guest.
Samuel Brohl & CompanyVictor Cherbuliez
So to church they went; and Staines, whose motto was "Hoc age," minded his book.
A SimpletonCharles Reade
But to introduce it into an old society, hic labor, hoc opus est!
Colloquies on SocietyRobert Southey
For the principal characteristic of Essence is to be separable and Hoc Aliquid.
AristotleGeorge Grote
ad hoc
- for a particular purpose only; lacking generality or justificationan ad hoc decision; an ad hoc committee
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Word Origin
Latin, literally: to this
post hoc
- logic the fallacy of assuming that temporal succession is evidence of causal relation
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Word Origin
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."
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post hoc
Latin, "after this." Especially in post hoc, ergo propter hoc, logical fallacy, literally "after this, therefore because of this."
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ad hoc
Latin, literally "for this (specific purpose)."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
ad hoc
[(ad hok, ad hohk)]
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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]
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.