Thursday, October 13, 2016

Interesting words: Zetetic

Definition: Zetetic as an adjective means "proceeding by inquiry"; as a noun, it means "skeptic".
Pronunciation: Zeh, teh, tick
Origin: Zetetic comes from Greek zeeteetikos (ζητητικός ) meaning "seeking".

Why use it? The adjectival sense of zetetic is a one word synonym for a three word phrase. One can use it to contrast, say, dogmatic religions and other things: "Fundamentalism usually is accepted on faith, but science and philosophy are both zetetic".

Examples:  I read this word in Modernity and its Discontents
 

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