middle term

noun

See under syllogism(def 1).

Origin of middle term

First recorded in 1595–1605

syllogism

[sil-uh-jiz-uh m]

noun

Logic. an argument the conclusion of which is supported by two premises, of which one (major premise) contains the term (major term) that is the predicate of the conclusion, and the other (minor premise) contains the term (minor term) that is the subject of the conclusion; common to both premises is a term (middle term) that is excluded from the conclusion. A typical form is “All A is C; all B is A; therefore all B is C.”
deductive reasoning.
an extremely subtle, sophisticated, or deceptive argument.

Origin of syllogism

1350–1400; < Latin syllogismus < Greek syllogismós, equivalent to syllog- (see syllogize) + -ismos -ism; replacing Middle English silogime < Old French < Latin, as above

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Examples from the Web for middle term

Historical Examples of middle term

Correggio a middle-term between the various Italian schools; "Most skilful artist since the ancient Greeks."
The Century of Columbus
James J. Walsh

British Dictionary definitions for middle term

middle term

noun

logic the term that appears in both the major and minor premises of a syllogism, but not in the conclusionAlso called: mean, middle

syllogism

noun

a deductive inference consisting of two premises and a conclusion, all of which are categorial propositions. The subject of the conclusion is the minor term and its predicate the major term; the middle term occurs in both premises but not the conclusion. There are 256 such arguments but only 24 are valid. Some men are mortal; some men are angelic; so some mortals are angelic is invalid, while some temples are in ruins; all ruins are fascinating; so some temples are fascinating is valid. Here fascinating, in ruins, and temples are respectively major, middle, and minor terms
a deductive inference of certain other forms with two premises, such as the hypothetical syllogism, if P then Q; if Q then R; so if P then R
a piece of deductive reasoning from the general to the particular
a subtle or deceptive piece of reasoning

Word Origin for syllogism

C14: via Latin from Greek sullogismos, from sullogizesthai to reckon together, from sul- syn- + logizesthai to calculate, from logos a discourse

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 middle term

syllogism

late 14c., from Old French silogisme "a syllogism," from Latin syllogismus, from Greek syllogismos "a syllogism," originally "inference, conclusion, computation, calculation," from syllogizesthai "bring together, premise, conclude," literally "think together," from syn- "together" (see syn-) + logizesthai "to reason, count," from logos "a reckoning, reason" (see logos).