Wiktionary

a priori

See also: apriori and à priori

English

edit
WOTD – 1 February 2012
 a priori on Wikipedia

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

First attested in 1610. Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): (anglicized) /ˌeɪ pɹaɪˈɔːɹaɪ/, (Latinist) /ˌɑː pɹiˈɔːɹi/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌeɪ pɹaɪˈɔːɹi/

Adjective

edit

a priori (comparative more a priori, superlative most a priori)

  2. (logic) Based on hypothesis and theory rather than experiment or empirical evidence.
    In his opening argument, the student mentioned nothing beyond his a priori knowledge.
  4. Self-evident, intuitively obvious.
  6. Presumed without analysis.
    • 1996, Jeet Heer, Gravitas, Autumn 1996:
      While the great critics drew their authority from the breadth of their reading, New Criterion critics often base their authority on an a priori rejection of the contemporary.
  8. (linguistics, conlanging) Developed entirely from scratch, without deriving it from existing languages.[1]
    • 2012 November 1, Laura Wright, “UT Language Creation Society invites students to learn origins of newer languages”, in The Daily Texan‎[1], archived from the original on 26 February 2013:
      Conlangers can also create a priori languages, which have no basis in existing languages. You might be familiar with more a priori conlangs than you think: The Klingon language from the television series “Star Trek,” the Na’vi language from the movie “Avatar,” and the Dothraki language from the television series “Game of Thrones” are all examples of a priori languages.

Synonyms

edit

Antonyms

edit

Derived terms

edit
edit

Translations

edit

Adverb

edit

a priori (comparative more a priori, superlative most a priori)

  2. (logic) In a way based on theoretical deduction rather than empirical observation.
    Synonym: deductively (broadly synonymous outside of philosophic arcanity)
    Antonyms: a posteriori, inductively

Translations

edit

Usage notes

edit

A priori is broadly naturalized in English, but is sometimes typeset in italics.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Donald J. Harlow, How to Build a Language

Finnish

edit

Etymology

edit

Latin a priori

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /ˈɑːpriˌoːriː/, [ˈɑ̝ːpriˌo̞ːriː]

Adverb

edit

a priori

  1. a priori

French

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

Pronunciation

edit

Adjective

edit

a priori (invariable)

  1. intuitively known, a priori

Adverb

edit

a priori

  1. (informal) at first glance

Noun

edit

a priori m (plural a priori)

  1. preconceived idea

Antonyms

edit

German

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

Pronunciation

edit

Adjective

edit

a priori (indeclinable)

  1. a priori

Adverb

edit

a priori

  1. a priori

Further reading

edit

Italian

edit
 
Italian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia it

Etymology

edit

Unadapted borrowing from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

Adjective

edit

a priori (invariable)

  1. a priori

Adverb

edit

a priori

  1. a priori
    Antonym: a posteriori

Derived terms

edit

Anagrams

edit

Latin

edit

Etymology

edit

Literally, “from the former, from that which comes before”. Introduced as a technical phrase by Scholastic philosophers, notably Albert of Saxony (14th century).

Pronunciation

edit

Adverb

edit

ā priōrī (not comparable)

  1. (Medieval Latin) In a manner involving reasoning from cause to effect.
  2. (New Latin) In a manner involving reasoning from first principles; a priori.

Descendants

edit
  • → English: a priori
  • → French: a priori
  • → German: a priori
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: a priori
  • → Norwegian Nynorsk: a priori
  • → Polish: a priori
  • → Portuguese: a priori
  • → Spanish: a priori

See also

edit

Norwegian Bokmål

edit
 
Norwegian Bokmål Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nb

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /aˈpriːoːrɪ/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -oːrɪ
  • Hyphenation: a‧pri‧o‧ri

Adverb

edit

a priori

  1. (logic, philosophy) a priori; based on hypothesis rather than experiment.
    • 2011 December 23, Morgenbladet, page 9:
      førmoderne samfunn … hvor forskjell ennå ikke betraktes a priori som en mangel
      pre-modern societies… where difference is not yet considered a priori as a deficiency
    viten a priori
    a priori knowledge
  2. presumed without analysis, self-evident, intuitively obvious.
    • 1894, Dagbladet:
      adskillige snes ungdom, som a priori kan henregnes til det overflødige proletariat
      several dozen youth, who a priori can be attributed to the superfluous proletariat
    • 1971, Norsk Filosofisk Tidsskrift:
      to former for apriori innsikt
      two forms of a priori insight
    • 2004, Thea Selliaas Thorsen, Pia Fraus:
      han [vil] ikke a priori utelukke at [sjalusien] kan være noe av årsaken til at han nå drives rundt av en uro
      he [will] not a priori rule out that [jealousy] may be part of the reason why he is now driven around by a turmoil
    a priori kunne man vente at...
    a priori one could expect that...

Antonyms

edit
edit

References

edit

Norwegian Nynorsk

edit

Adverb

edit

a priori

  1. (logic, philosophy) a priori; based on hypothesis rather than experiment.
  2. presumed without analysis, self-evident, intuitively obvious.

Polish

edit
 
Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

edit

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /a‿ˈprjɔ.ri/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɔri
  • Syllabification: a‿prio‧ri

Adjective

edit

a priori (not comparable, no derived adverb)

  1. (literary, logic, philosophy) a priori
    Synonyms: aprioryczny, apriorystyczny
    Antonyms: a posteriori, aposterioryczny

Adverb

edit

a priori (not comparable)

  1. (literary, logic, philosophy) a priori
    Synonym: apriorycznie
    Antonyms: a posteriori, aposteriorycznie

Derived terms

edit
adjectives
nouns
edit
adverb
noun

Further reading

edit
  • a priori in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • a priori in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

edit

Etymology

edit

Unadapted borrowing from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

Pronunciation

edit
  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /a pɾiˈɔ.ɾi/ [a pɾɪˈɔ.ɾi], (faster pronunciation) /a ˈpɾjɔ.ɾi/
  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /a pɾiˈɔ.ɾi/, (faster pronunciation) /a ˈpɾjɔ.ɾi/

Adverb

edit

a priori

  1. (logic) a priori (derived by logic)
  2. a priori (presumed without analysis)

Derived terms

edit

Spanish

edit
 
Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia es

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /a pɾiˈoɾi/ [a pɾiˈo.ɾi]
  • Syllabification: a pri‧o‧ri

Adverb

edit

a priori

  1. beforehand
    Synonyms: previamente, antes, anteriormente
  2. (logic, philosophy) a priori

Derived terms

edit

Further reading

edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=a_priori&oldid=84756882"