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topic

[top-ik]

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noun

a subject of conversation or discussion: to provide a topic for discussion.

the subject or theme of a discourse or of one of its parts.

Rhetoric, Logic. a general field of considerations from which arguments can be drawn.

Also called theme. Linguistics. the part of a sentence that announces the item about which the rest of the sentence communicates information, often signaled by initial position in the sentence or by a grammatical marker. Compare comment (def. 6).

Origin:
1560–70; < Latin topica (plural) < Greek (tà) topiká name of work by Aristotle (literally, (things) pertaining to commonplaces), equivalent to tóp(os) commonplace + -ika, neuter plural of -ikos -ic; see topo-

Synonyms
2. thesis, subject matter. See subject.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To topic

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Topic is always a great word to know.

So is quincunx. Does it mean:

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

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Example Sentences

Browse the list below to find topic pages about science.

Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.

It also can expand their vocabulary by helping them visualize and create their own imagery for the topic.

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Browse the list below to find topic pages about science.

Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.

It also can expand their vocabulary by helping them visualize and create their own imagery for the topic.

Understand your topic before commenting and making a fool out of yourself.

Like barbeque and single malt scotch, burritos are a topic made for fierce argumentation up to and including fistfights.

Pick something that fits with your topic of interest.

Browse the list below to find topic pages about people.

Each year they celebrate a different topic related to conservation and the world.

The topic will be approached from biological, physical and artistic perspectives.

Soon thereafter he began searching for a topic for his doctoral thesis.

Browse the list below to find topic pages about organizations.

Then write a sentence explaining how your map and the coordinates help you to learn more about the topic.

Students will conclude by drawing pictures of themselves using this equipment to study the topic they've selected.

Draw lines connecting the central topic to the satellite topics.

Ouch burn for the op, won't be trying to make an off topic post anytime soon.

Before carbon dioxide took center stage, acid rain was a major topic of.

If you are not a professional freelance-writer, but a reader who wants to suggest a story topic click here.

Recreational drugs are a ridiculously fun topic for scientific research.

Each topic page collects all the news, reference and archival information.

It's an intensive, week-long seminar devoted to a particular topic.

Rain forest conservation is an extremely important topic of discussion-and action.

Another student turned in a paper on a medical topic.

The sun's role in global warming has long been a matter of debate and is likely to remain a contentious topic.

Tell students that they will be learning more about this topic in a few minutes.

Use online resources to learn about the history of your topic.

Rather, the influence of a climate change-induced shift is a topic of scientific speculation.

Why the sturgeons jump has been the topic of a long-standing debate.

Why humans ended up being more successful has long been a topic of debate.

Sum up the main points that the story makes about the topic.

Remind them that their answers should stay on the topic of crocodilians' long term survival.

One way is their choice of topic and what to include in the story.

Ask them to write paragraphs explaining how geography can help them learn about this historical topic.

The cause of the extinctions of large animals such as woolly mammoths has been a topic of great debate.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

topic (ˈtɒpɪk)

—n
1.	a subject or theme of a speech, essay, book, etc
2.	a subject of conversation; item of discussion
3.	(in rhetoric, logic, etc) a category or class of arguments or ideas which may be drawn on to furnish proofs

[C16: from Latin topica translating Greek ta topika, literally: matters relating to commonplaces, title of a treatise by Aristotle, from topoi, pl of topos place, commonplace]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

topic

1634, "argument suitable for debate," singular form of "Topics" (1568), the name of a work by Aristotle on logical and rhetorical generalities, from L. Topica, from Gk. Ta Topika, lit. "matters concerning topoi," from topoi "commonplaces," neut. pl. of topikos "commonplace, of a place," from topos "place."

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The meaning "matter treated in speech or writing, subject, theme" is first recorded 1720. Topical "of or pertaining to topics of the day" is recorded from 1873.

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topic

top·ic