paradox

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpæɹ.əˌdɒks/ (UK); /ˈpæɹ.əˌdɑks/, /ˈpɛɹ.əˌdɑks/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin paradoxum (“a statement seemingly absurd yet really true”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} partly through Middle French paradoxe,^[3][4] from Ancient Greek παράδοξον (parádoxon), the neuter of parádoxos “contrary to expectation, incredible”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek παρά (pará, “contrary to, beyond”) + δόξα (dóxa, “opinion”),^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} from dokeîn “to seem, think”.^[2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A statement or belief contrary to received opinion, often implied to be marvellous or absurd (1540).^{[8][3][5][4][7]}

Semantic evolution

The word at first carried notions of the absurd or fantastic.^[4] From 1569 it meant a statement that seems self-contradictory or absurd but may in fact be true,^[8][3][4] and soon also one that is actually self-contradictory (1570).^[8] By 1589 it could mean a paradoxical quality,^[8] and in the 17th century a phenomenon or person with apparently contradictory aspects.^[6][2] In logic, a statement that leads from acceptable premises by sound reasoning to an illogical conclusion is recorded by 1903.^[8][4]

Timeline

• 1540 – a statement contrary to received opinion.^[8][3][5]
• 1569 – a seemingly absurd but possibly true statement.^[8][3]
• 1570 – a self-contradictory statement.^[8]
• 17th century – a person or thing with contradictory aspects.^[6]
• 1903 – a paradox in logic.^[8][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A seemingly contradictory or absurd statement that may nonetheless be true.
2. A person, thing or situation with apparently contradictory or inexplicable aspects.
3. (logic) A statement or argument that leads by apparently valid reasoning from acceptable premises to a self-contradictory conclusion.
4. A statement contrary to received opinion.

Word family

• paradoxical
• paradoxically
• paradoxicalness
• paradoxology

Related words

• orthodox
• heterodox
• dogma
• doxology

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press