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maieutic

[mey-yoo-tik]
adjective
  1. of or relating to the method used by Socrates of eliciting knowledge in the mind of a person by interrogation and insistence on close and logical reasoning.
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Origin of maieutic

1645–55; < Greek maieutikós of, pertaining to midwifery, equivalent to maieú(esthai) to serve as a midwife (akin to maîa midwife) + -tikos -tic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for maieutic

Historical Examples

  • Therefore he called his method the "maieutic" or "obstetric" art.

    Christianity and Greek Philosophy

    Benjamin Franklin Cocker

British Dictionary definitions for maieutic

maieutic

maieutical

adjective
  1. philosophy of or relating to the Socratic method of eliciting knowledge by a series of questions and answers
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Word Origin

C17: from Greek maieutikos relating to midwifery (used figuratively by Socrates), from maia midwife
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