Wiktionary

a priori

See also: apriori and à priori

English

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WOTD – 1 February 2012
 a priori on Wikipedia

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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

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

Adjective

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

  1. (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.
  2. Self-evident, intuitively obvious.
  3. 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.
  4. (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

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Adverb

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

  1. (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

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Usage notes

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

See also

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References

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

Finnish

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Etymology

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Latin a priori

Pronunciation

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

Adverb

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a priori

  1. a priori

French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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a priori (invariable)

  1. intuitively known, a priori

Adverb

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a priori

  1. (informal) at first glance

Noun

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a priori m (plural a priori)

  1. preconceived idea

Antonyms

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German

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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a priori (indeclinable)

  1. a priori

Adverb

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a priori

  1. a priori

Further reading

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Italian

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Italian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia it

Etymology

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

Adjective

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a priori (invariable)

  1. a priori

Adverb

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a priori

  1. a priori
    Antonym: a posteriori

Derived terms

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Anagrams

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Latin

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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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

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  • → 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

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Norwegian Bokmål

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Norwegian Bokmål Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nb

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Adverb

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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

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References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Adverb

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a priori

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

Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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a priori (not comparable, no derived adverb)

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

Adverb

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a priori (not comparable)

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

Derived terms

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adjectives
nouns
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adverb
noun

Further reading

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

Portuguese

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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  • (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

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a priori

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

Derived terms

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Spanish

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Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia es

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Adverb

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a priori

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

Derived terms

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Further reading

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