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casuist

 - 3 dictionary results

cas⋅u⋅ist

  [kazh-oo-ist]
Use casuist in a Sentence
–noun
1. an oversubtle or disingenuous reasoner, esp. in questions of morality.
2. a person who studies and resolves moral problems of judgment or conduct arising in specific situations.
Origin:
1600–10; < Sp casuista < L cāsu(s) case 1 + -ista -ist
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ca·su·ist   (kāzh'ōō-ĭst)   
n.  A person who is expert in or given to casuistry.

[French casuiste, from Spanish casuista, from Latin cāsus, case; see case1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

casuist 
1609, "one who studies and resolves cases of conscience," from Fr. casuiste, from L. casus (see case (1)). Often in a sinister or contemptuous sense. Casuistry is first attested 1725.
"Casuistry ... destroys, by distinctions and exceptions, all morality, and effaces the essential difference between right and wrong." [Bolingbroke, 1736]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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