Wiktionary

illation

English

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WOTD – 23 July 2011

Etymology

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From Latin illātiō (“logical inference, deduction, conclusion”), from illātus, perfect passive participle of inferō (“carry or bring into somewhere; conclude”), from in ferō (“bear, carry; suffer”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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illation (countable and uncountable, plural illations)

  1. The act of inferring or concluding, especially from a set of premises; a conclusion, a deduction.
    • 1650, Thomas Browne, chapter I, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 2:
      Now herein there seems to be a very erroneous Illation: from the Indulgence of God unto Cain, concluding an immunity unto himself […]
    • 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC:
      it so orders the intermediate Ideas, as to discover what Connection there is in each Link of the Chain, whereby the Extreams are held together; and thereby, as it were, to draw into View the Truth sought for, which is what we call Illation or Inference […]
    • 1974, Guy Davenport, Tatlin!:
      Adriaan moved to Pierce’s American illation whereby an if begets a therefore, event by event, the javelin’s flight issuing from the web of contingencies in which we may locate the javelin and the javelineer […]
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Translations

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