inductive

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French inductif, or directly borrowed from Late Latin inductīvus,^[2][3][4] from inductus, the past participle of indūcō (“to lead in, induce”), the source of induce.^[5][6][4] The Late Latin adjective meant "hypothetical" in Priscian and "inducing, leading to" in Medieval Latin.^[3][2][6] The OED, which takes the adjective from Latin, compares French inductif, found in the 14th century.^[6] Merriam-Webster derives only the first sense from the Latin adjective, and takes the logical and electrical senses from induction, after pairs such as deduction and deductive.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, an inducement: before 1420, in Hoccleve's De Regimine Principum ("this a verray inductif Vnto stelthe"),^[6][8] a work the Middle English Dictionary dates to 1412.^[8] As an adjective, "bringing on, inducing", in a Middle English translation of Chauliac from before 1425, of a wound that leads to death.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The early sense was "leading on to something; inducing", used by Milton in Paradise Lost ("inductive mainly to the sin of Eve"), which Johnson (1755) quoted for "leading; persuasive".^[9][7] A sense "productive of, giving rise to" was used from 1613 to 1772.^[6] The logical sense, based on induction or reasoning from particular facts to general principles, is recorded from 1764, in Thomas Reid,^[6][4] and the Oxford Dictionary of English dates it to the mid 18th century.^[2] The adjective was used from 1832, in Faraday, of electric or magnetic induction, and later, from 1902, of a circuit possessing inductance.^[6] Later senses are "introductory" (1868) and, in embryology, "producing induction" (1931).^[6]

Timeline

• before 1420 – noun, an inducement (obsolete by 1683).^[6][8]
• before 1425 – inducing, bringing on.^[8]
• 1613 – productive of, giving rise to (obsolete by 1772).^[6]
• 1764 – in logic, based on induction.^[6][4]
• 1832 – relating to electric or magnetic induction.^[6]
• 1868 – introductory.^[6]
• 1902 – possessing inductance.^[6]
• 1931 – in embryology, producing induction.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of, using or based on induction, reasoning from particular cases to a general conclusion: Her inductive argument drew on dozens of field reports.^{[10][7][11][6]}
2. Of, relating to or produced by electrical or magnetic induction, or having inductance.^[10][7][11]
3. Leading on; tending to induce or cause something.^{[10][7][11][6]}
4. (rare) Introductory.^[10][7][11]
5. (biology) Producing a reaction in an embryo or organism by induction.^[10][7][6]

Word family

• inductively
• inductiveness
• noninductive
• uninductive
• inductive coupling
• inductive reactance

Related words

• induce
• induction
• inductance
• inductor
• induct
• deductive

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin