metaphysics English · revision 907

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mɛtəˈfɪzɪks/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the plural of [[inh|enm|methaphisik]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[bor|la-med|metaphysica]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from Medieval Greek ''(tà) metaphusiká'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from Greek ''tà metà tà phusiká'' “the (works) after the Physics”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) the title of Aristotle's treatise on first principles, which followed his works on physics.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The branch of speculation dealing with the first causes of things (before 1387 as ''methaphesik'');^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) the plural form dates from 1569.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The name was given about 70 BC by Andronicus of Rhodes simply to describe the order of the books, but Latin writers misinterpreted it as “the science of what lies beyond the physical”.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The word was at first used in the singular in English; the plural prevailed after the 17th century.^(Etymonline) From the 17th century it could mean philosophy in general,^(Etymonline) and later also abstruse or excessively subtle reasoning^(AHD) and the theoretical principles of a particular field (1845).^(OED 1989)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1387 – ''methaphesik''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1569 – ''metaphysics''.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * c. 1590 – occult or magical lore, in Marlowe (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1845 – the theoretical principles of a field.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The branch of [[philosophy]] that studies the fundamental nature of reality and being, including [[ontology]] and [[cosmology]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The theoretical or first principles of a particular subject.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Abstract speculation on questions that cannot be answered by scientific observation.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Excessively subtle or abstruse reasoning.^(AHD)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[metaphysical]]

+ * [[metaphysician]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[physics]]

+ * [[ontology]]

+ * [[epistemology]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}