argument
Part of speech: noun
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: astronomy
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Etymology: Etymology tree
Latin arguō
Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥
Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom
Proto-Italic *-mentom
Latin -mentum
Latin argūmentumder.
Anglo-Norman arguementbor.
Middle English argument
English argument
From Middle English argument, from Anglo-Norman and Old French arguement, from Latin argumentum. The English word is analysable as argue + -ment. Doublet of argumentum.
Displaced native Old English racu and ġeflit.
Base: argue
Affixes: -ment
Inflected forms:
form: arguments
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: arguement
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
Senses:
gloss: A fact or statement used to support a proposition; a reason.
pos: noun
tags: also
countable
figuratively
examples: There is no greater, at leaſt no more palpable and convincing Argument of the Exiſtence of a Deity than the admirable Art and Wiſdom that diſcovers itſelf in the make and conſtitution, the order and diſpoſition, the ends and uſes of all the parts and members of this ſtately fabrick of Heaven and Earth.
Says Plowdon [i.e., Edmund Plowden], the whale so caught belongs to the King and Queen, “because of its superior excellence.” And by the soundest commentators this has ever been held a cogent argument in such matters.
gloss: A fact or statement used to support a proposition; a reason.
pos: noun
tags: also
countable
figuratively
uncountable
examples: Consider the argument: / 15) I am hungry; therefore I am hungry. / Intuitively this should count as valid. But suppose we thought of the components of arguments as sentences, and suppose we imagine the context shifting between the utterance of the premise and the utterance of the conclusion. Suppose you are hungry and utter the premise, and I am not hungry and utter the conclusion. Then we would have a true premise and a false conclusion, so the argument would not be valid. Clearly we need to avoid such problems, and introducing the notion of a proposition, in the style of this section, is one way of doing so.
In ‘The Critic of Arguments’ (1892), [Charles Sanders] Peirce adopts a notion that is even closer to that of a propositional function. There he develops the concept of the ‘rhema’. He says the rhema is like a relative term, but it is not a term. It contains a copula, that is, when joined to the correct number of arguments it produces an assertion. For example, ‘__ is bought by __ from __ for __’ is a four-place rhema. Applying it to four objects a, b, c, and d produces the assertion that a is bought by b from c for d[…].
gloss: A process of reasoning; argumentation.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: Indeed, I cannot commend my life; for I am conſcious to my ſelf of many failings: therein, I know alſo that a man by his converſation, may ſoon overthrow what by argument or perſwaſion he doth labour to faſten upon others for their good: […]
For if the Idea be not agreed on, betwixt the Speaker and Hearer, for which the Words ſtand, the Argument is not about Things, but Names.
I shuddered when I thought of the possible consequences of my consent; but I felt that there was some justice in his argument.
Meanwhile, the authoritarianism, which has turned left-liberalism into a movement for sneaks and prudes, was always going to play into the hands of the right. Free citizens have stopped listening to those who respond to the challenge of argument by screaming for the police to arrest the politically incorrect or for universities to ban speakers who depart from leftish orthodoxy.
gloss: An abstract or summary of the content of a literary work such as a book, a poem or a major section such as a chapter, included in the work before the content itself; (figuratively) the contents themselves.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: If I would broach the veſſels of my loue, / And try the argument of hearts, by borrowing, / Men, and mens fortunes, could I frankely vſe / As I can bid thee ſpeake.
gloss: A verbal dispute; a quarrel.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: The neighbours got into an argument about the branches of the trees that extended over the fence.
Ar[mado]. Come hither, come hither: How did this argument begin.
 Boy. By ſaying that a Coſtard was broken in a ſhin,
 Then cald you for the Lenuoy [i.e. l'envoy].
 Clow[ne; i.e., Costard]. True, and I for a Plantan, thus came your argument in,
 Then the boyes fat Lenuoy, the Gooſe that you bought, and he ended the market.
In argument with men a woman ever / Goes by the worſe, whatever be her cauſe.
gloss: Any dispute, altercation, or collision.
pos: noun
tags: broadly
countable
euphemistic
humorous
uncountable
examples: Steve got in a physical argument with his neighbor and came away with a black eye.
While biking home, he got in an argument with the pavement.
D5131 has received extensive cab damage, having been in an argument with Class 37 D6855 at Inverness in August 1971 - one of two accidents that occurred there on August 20.
gloss: Any of the phrases that bear a syntactic connection to the verb of a clause.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: In numerous works over the past two decades, beginning with the pioneering work of Gruber (1965), Fillmore (1968a), and Jackendoff (1972), it has been argued that each Argument (i.e. Subject or Complement) of a Predicate bears a particular thematic role (alias theta-role, or θ-role to its Predicate), and that the set of thematic functions which Arguments can fulfil are drawn from a highly restricted, finite, universal set.
gloss: The independent variable of a function.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: The phase of a complex number.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: A quantity on which the calculation of another quantity depends.
pos: noun
tags: also
countable
uncountable
examples: The altitude is the argument of the refraction.
gloss: A value, or a reference to a value, passed to a function.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: Parameters are like labelled fillable blanks used to define a function whereas arguments are passed to a function when calling it, filling in those blanks.
gloss: A parameter at a function call; an actual parameter, as opposed to a formal parameter.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: A matter in question; a business in hand.
pos: noun
tags: countable
obsolete
uncountable
examples: As neere as I could ſift him on that argument,
 On ſome apparent danger ſeene in him,
 Aimde at your highnes, no inueterate malice.
On, on, you Nobliſh Engliſh, / Whoſe blood is fet from Fathers of Warre-proofe: / Fathers, that like ſo many Alexanders, / Haue in theſe parts from Morne till Euen fought, / And ſheath’d their Swords, for lack of argument.
gloss: The subject matter of an artistic representation, discourse, or writing; a theme or topic.
pos: noun
tags: countable
obsolete
uncountable
examples: [I]n vttering the ſtuffe ye receiued of the one, in declaring the order ye tooke with the other, ye ſhall neuer lacke, neither matter, nor maner, what to write, nor how to write in this kinde of Argument.
Belike this ſhow imports the argument of the play.
O know ſweet loue I alwaies write of you,
 And you and loue are ſtill my argument: […]
[N]earer view / Briſtl'd with upright beams innumerable / Of rigid Spears, and Helmets throng'd, and Shields / Various, with boaſtful Argument portraid, / The banded Powers of Satan haſting on / With furious expedition; […]
The abstract, or argument of the piece, is shortly as follows.
gloss: Evidence, proof; (countable) an item of such evidence or proof.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
uncountable
examples: [F]or louing me, by my troth it is no addition to her wit, nor no great argument of her follie, for I will be horribly in loue with her, […]
Synonyms: argument
assertion
basis
claim
contention
proof
Antonyms: recantation
Related words: arguable
arguably
argue
arguendo
arguer
argufier
argufy
arguing
argumentator
argumentum
argute
good
bad
valid
invalid
correct
incorrect
right
wrong
sound
unsound
strong
weak
convincing
unconvincing
plausible
implausible
conclusive
inconclusive
fallacious
erroneous
simple
complicated
straightforward
subtle
tricky
inductive
deductive
logical
illogical
absurd
specious
flawed
honest
dishonest
sincere
deceptive
stupid
silly
insane
cogent
relevant
irrelevant
discussant
debater
disputant
controversialist
orator
rhetorician
lawyer
politician
sophist
casuist
demagogue
philosopher
thinker
dispute
Derived words: argumentable
argumental
argumentary
argumentation
argumentative
argumentatively
argumentativeness
argument form
argument-form
argument from design
argument from ignorance
argument from illusion
argument from silence
argumenthood
argumentive
argumentize
argumentless
argument mining
multiargument
sargable
an argument
Translations:
lang: Albanian
word: argument
lang: Arabic
word: حُجَّة
roman: ḥujja
lang: Arabic
word: مُرَافَعَة
roman: murāfaʕa
lang: Armenian
word: փաստարկ
roman: pʻastark
lang: Armenian
word: կռվան
roman: kṙvan
lang: Azerbaijani
word: dəlil
lang: Belarusian
word: абгрунтава́нне
roman: abhruntavánnje
lang: Belarusian
word: аргуме́нт
roman: arhumjént
lang: Breton
word: arguz
lang: Breton
word: arguzoù
lang: Bulgarian
word: аргуме́нт
roman: argumént
lang: Bulgarian
word: до́вод
roman: dóvod
lang: Catalan
word: argument
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 論點 /论点
roman: lùndiǎn
lang: Cornish
word: argyans
lang: Cornish
word: dadhel
lang: Czech
word: argument
lang: Danish
word: argument
lang: Dutch
word: argument
lang: Esperanto
word: argumento
lang: Finnish
word: argumentti
lang: Finnish
word: perustelu
lang: Finnish
word: syy
lang: French
word: argument
lang: Galician
word: argumento
lang: Georgian
word: არგუმენტი
roman: argumenṭi
lang: Georgian
word: საფუძველი
roman: sapuʒveli
lang: German
word: Argument
lang: Greek
word: επιχείρημα
roman: epicheírima
lang: Ancient Greek
word: ἔλεγχος
roman: élenkhos
lang: Gullah
word: aa’gymu’t
lang: Hebrew
word: טַעֲנָה
roman: t'a'ana
lang: Hebrew
word: טיעון
roman: t'i'un
lang: Hindi
word: तर्क
roman: tark
lang: Hungarian
word: érv
lang: Irish
word: argóint
lang: Italian
word: argomento
lang: Kazakh
word: дәлел
roman: dälel
lang: Kyrgyz
word: негиз
roman: negiz
lang: Kyrgyz
word: негиздөө
roman: negizdöö
lang: Kyrgyz
word: негизделүү аргумент
roman: negizdelüü
lang: Kyrgyz
word: далил
roman: dalil
lang: Kyrgyz
word: жүйө
roman: jüyö
lang: Kyrgyz
word: ыспат
roman: ıspat
lang: Kyrgyz
word: далилдөө
roman: dalildöö
lang: Latin
word: argumentum
lang: Latvian
word: arguments
lang: Malay
word: hujah
lang: Eastern Mari
word: амал
roman: amal
lang: Old English
word: racu
lang: Oromo
word: falmii
lang: Polish
word: argument
lang: Polish
word: powód
lang: Polish
word: uzasadnienie
lang: Polish
word: dowód
lang: Polish
word: racja
lang: Portuguese
word: argumento
lang: Romanian
word: argument
lang: Russian
word: обоснова́ние
roman: obosnovánije
lang: Russian
word: аргуме́нт
roman: argumént
lang: Russian
word: до́вод
roman: dóvod
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: argainn
lang: Slovene
word: argument
lang: Slovene
word: utemeljitev
lang: Spanish
word: argumento
lang: Swedish
word: argument
lang: Turkish
word: delil
lang: Turkish
word: hüccet
lang: Turkish
word: kanıt
lang: Turkish
word: sav
lang: Ukrainian
word: обґрунтува́ння
roman: obgruntuvánnja
lang: Ukrainian
word: аргуме́нт
roman: arhumént
lang: Ukrainian
word: до́від
roman: dóvid
lang: Vietnamese
word: lý lẽ
lang: Vietnamese
word: lí lẽ
lang: Arabic
word: وَسِيط
roman: wasīṭ
lang: Armenian
word: արգումենտ
roman: argument
lang: Asturian
word: argumentu
lang: Bulgarian
word: аргуме́нт
roman: argumént
lang: Catalan
word: argument
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 參數 /参数
roman: cānshù
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 參量 /参量
roman: cānliàng
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 引數 /引数
roman: yǐnshù
lang: Cornish
word: oberadow
lang: Czech
word: argument
lang: Danish
word: argument
lang: Dutch
word: argument
lang: Esperanto
word: argumento
lang: Finnish
word: argumentti
lang: French
word: argument
lang: Galician
word: argumento
lang: German
word: Argument
lang: Greek
word: όρισμα
roman: órisma
lang: Hebrew
word: ארגומנט
roman: argumént
lang: Italian
word: argomento
lang: Japanese
word: 引数
roman: hikisū
lang: Kazakh
word: аргумент
roman: argument
lang: Korean
word: 인수
roman: insu
lang: Polish
word: argument
lang: Portuguese
word: argumento
lang: Russian
word: аргуме́нт
roman: argumént
lang: Russian
word: пара́метр
roman: parámetr
lang: Spanish
word: argumento
lang: Swedish
word: argument
lang: Turkish
word: değişken
lang: Ukrainian
word: зале́жна змі́нна
roman: zaléžna zmínna
lang: Vietnamese
word: đối số