rational
See also: rațional
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- rationall (obsolete)
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Old French rationel, rational, from Latin rationalis (“of or belonging to reason, rational, reasonable; having a ratio”), from ratio (“reason; calculation”).
AdjectiveEdit
rational (comparative more rational, superlative most rational)
- Capable of reasoning.
- Man is a rational creature.
- 2001, Mark Sainsbury, chapter 1, in Logical Forms — An Introduction to Philosophical Logic, 2nd edition, Blackwell Publishing, →ISBN, §7, page 32:
- The utility of valid arguments is a monument to our frailty: to the fact that we are not completely rational beings.
- Logically sound; not self-contradictory or otherwise absurd.
- His statements were quite rational.
- (of a person or personal characteristics) Healthy or balanced intellectually; exhibiting reasonableness.
- rational conduct
- 2014 June 21, “Magician’s brain”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8892:
- The [Isaac] Newton that emerges from the [unpublished] manuscripts is far from the popular image of a rational practitioner of cold and pure reason. The architect of modern science was himself not very modern. He was obsessed with alchemy.
- (mathematics, arithmetic, number theory, not comparable) Of a number, capable of being expressed as the ratio of two integers.
- ¾ is a rational number, but √2 is an irrational number.
- (mathematics, arithmetic, not comparable) Of an algebraic expression, capable of being expressed as the ratio of two polynomials.
- (chemistry) Expressing the type, structure, relations, and reactions of a compound; graphic; said of formulae.
- (physics) Expressing a physical object.
- A rational table is physical, a written table is neither.
AntonymsEdit
- (reasonable): absurd, irrational, nonsensical
- (capable of reasoning): arational, irrational, non-rational
- (number theory): irrational
Related termsEdit
Terms etymologically related to rational
TranslationsEdit
capable of reasoning
|
reasonable; not absurd
|
arithmetic: of a number
|
arithmetic: of an algebraic expression
|
NounEdit
rational (plural rationals)
- (mathematics) A rational number: a number that can be expressed as the quotient of two integers.
- The quotient of two rationals is again a rational.
TranslationsEdit
rational number — see rational number
Etymology 2Edit
From Old French rational, from Medieval Latin rationale (“a pontifical stole, a pallium, an ornament worn over the chasuble”), neuter of Latin rationalis (“rational”), for which see the first etymology. Translation of λογεῖον (logeîon) or perhaps λόγιον (lógion, “oracle”) in the Septuagint version of Exodus 28.
NounEdit
rational (plural rationals)
- (historical) The breastplate worn by Israelite high priests.
- 1609, The Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Lavrence Kellam, […], OCLC 1006139495, Exodvs 28:15, page 234:
- The Rationale of iudgement alſo thou shalt mke with embrodered worke of diuers colours, according to the workmanship of the Ephod of gold, hyacinth, and purple, and ſcarlet twiſe died, and twiſted ſilke.
TranslationsEdit
breastplate worn by Israelite high priests
ReferencesEdit
- rational in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- rational in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
Further readingEdit
- "rational" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 252.
AnagramsEdit
FrenchEdit
NounEdit
rational f (plural rationaux)
- rationale (religious clothing)
Further readingEdit
- “rational”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
GermanEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Latin rationalis.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
rational (strong nominative masculine singular rationaler, comparative rationaler, superlative am rationalsten)
DeclensionEdit
Positive forms of rational
Comparative forms of rational
Superlative forms of rational