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View synonyms for metaphysics
metaphysics
[ met-uh-fiz-iks ]
noun
, (used with a singular verb)
- the branch of philosophy that treats of first principles, includes ontology and cosmology, and is intimately connected with epistemology.
- philosophy, especially in its more abstruse branches.
- the underlying theoretical principles of a subject or field of inquiry.
- (initial capital letter, italics) a treatise (4th century b.c.) by Aristotle, dealing with first principles, the relation of universals to particulars, and the teleological doctrine of causation.
metaphysics
/ ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪsɪst; ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪks; ˌmɛtəfɪˈzɪʃən /
noun
- the branch of philosophy that deals with first principles, esp of being and knowing
- the philosophical study of the nature of reality, concerned with such questions as the existence of God, the external world, etc
- (popularly) abstract or subtle discussion or reasoning
metaphysics
- The field in philosophy that studies ultimate questions, such as whether every event has a cause and what things are genuinely real.
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Derived Forms
- metaphysician, noun
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Word History and Origins
Origin of metaphysics1
First recorded in 1560–70; from Medieval Latin metaphysica, from Medieval Greek (tà) metaphysiká (neuter plural), Greek tà metà tà physiká “the (works) after the Physics ”; with reference to the arrangement of Aristotle's writings
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Word History and Origins
Origin of metaphysics1
C16: from Medieval Latin, from Greek ta meta ta phusika the things after the physics, from the arrangement of the subjects treated in the works of Aristotle
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