[en-thuh-meem] 
| a syllogism or other argument in which a premise or the conclusion is unexpressed. |
[en-thuh-mee-mat-ik] , adjective | en·thy·meme (ěn'thə-mēm') n. Logic A syllogism in which one of the premises or the conclusion is not stated explicitly. [Latin enthȳmēma, from Greek enthūmēma, a rhetorical argument, from enthūmeisthai, to consider : en-, in; see en-2 + thūmos, mind.] |
enthymeme
in syllogistic, or traditional, logic, name of a syllogistic argument that is incompletely stated. In the argument "All insects have six legs; therefore, all wasps have six legs," the minor premise, "All wasps are insects," is suppressed. Any one of the propositions may be omitted-even the conclusion; but in general it is the one that comes most naturally to the mind. Often in rhetorical language the deliberate omission of one of the propositions has a dramatic effect. This use of the word differs from Aristotle's original application of it (in his Prior Analytics, ii, 27) to a rhetorical syllogism (employed for persuasion instead of instruction) based on "probabilities or signs"; i.e., on propositions that are generally valid or on particular facts that may be held to justify a general principle or another particular fact.
Learn more about enthymeme with a free trial on Britannica.com.
