contradiction

Where does the word "contradiction" come from? It comes from Latin contrādīcere, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Contradiction’s story begins in Latin: contrādīcere meant “to speak against.” To speak against, from 'contrā', against, and 'dīcere', to say. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as contradiction. Opposition; Aristotle's law of non-contradiction, that something cannot be and not be, shaped later logic. It reached English by 1300s as contradiction. Taken into scholastic debate. Today, contradiction means a statement or situation that conflicts with another.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient contrādīcere "to speak against", to speak against, from 'contrā', against, and 'dīcere', to say.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval contradiction "opposition", opposition; Aristotle's law of non-contradiction, that something cannot be and not be, shaped later logic.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s contradiction "conflict of statements", taken into scholastic debate.