Word of the day: epistemology
Word of the Day: Epistemology (noun)
Pronunciation: [ê-pis-tê-'mah-lê-jee or -ji]
Definition: (Philosophy) The study of the nature of knowledge: suppositions, conclusions, and all that happens in between-how we know things; the structure of knowledge itself.
Usage: The adjective for today's word is "epistemological," the adverb, "epistemologically," and a person studying the nature of knowledge is an epistemologist. Remember that this word contains two [e]s followed by two [o]s.
Suggested Usage: Although today's term is most closely associated with philosophy, knowledge is structured differently in the various areas of human endeavor, so it may be studied outside pure philosophy, "Arlan started out writing his doctoral thesis on the epistemology of political debate in the US but, due to a lack of material, soon shifted his topic to the epistemology of political humor." However, if you need to express a sentiment regarding the knowledge content of anything at all, today's word will step up to the task: "Windermere's speech was remarkably eloquent and equally innocent of any epistemological thrust."
Etymology: This word comes from Greek episteme "knowledge," the noun of epistasthai, episte- "to understand." The verb is composed of epi- "on" + histanai "to place, determine." The verb root comes from Proto-Indo-European *sta- "to stand," found in English "stand," Russian stojat' "stand," German stehen "stand," Latin statio(n) "standing still," from which we take "station," and Greek stasis "standing still," from which we borrowed "static." The root turns up in a group of words referring to horses, including "stall," "steed," "stallion," and "stud." The latter comes from Old English stod "horse-breeding place." (It's come a long way, hasn't it?)
-Dr. Language, YourDictionary.com
Pronunciation: [ê-pis-tê-'mah-lê-jee or -ji]
Definition: (Philosophy) The study of the nature of knowledge: suppositions, conclusions, and all that happens in between-how we know things; the structure of knowledge itself.
Usage: The adjective for today's word is "epistemological," the adverb, "epistemologically," and a person studying the nature of knowledge is an epistemologist. Remember that this word contains two [e]s followed by two [o]s.
Suggested Usage: Although today's term is most closely associated with philosophy, knowledge is structured differently in the various areas of human endeavor, so it may be studied outside pure philosophy, "Arlan started out writing his doctoral thesis on the epistemology of political debate in the US but, due to a lack of material, soon shifted his topic to the epistemology of political humor." However, if you need to express a sentiment regarding the knowledge content of anything at all, today's word will step up to the task: "Windermere's speech was remarkably eloquent and equally innocent of any epistemological thrust."
Etymology: This word comes from Greek episteme "knowledge," the noun of epistasthai, episte- "to understand." The verb is composed of epi- "on" + histanai "to place, determine." The verb root comes from Proto-Indo-European *sta- "to stand," found in English "stand," Russian stojat' "stand," German stehen "stand," Latin statio(n) "standing still," from which we take "station," and Greek stasis "standing still," from which we borrowed "static." The root turns up in a group of words referring to horses, including "stall," "steed," "stallion," and "stud." The latter comes from Old English stod "horse-breeding place." (It's come a long way, hasn't it?)
-Dr. Language, YourDictionary.com