Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "deduction" come from? It comes from Latin deducere, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "deduction" come from? It comes from Latin deducere, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).
Deduction’s story begins in Latin: deducere meant “to lead away, to bring down.” To lead away, to bring down, from de- (down) and ducere (to lead). It reached English by 1400s as deduction. Settled as the English word for reasoning from general principles to a specific conclusion. Today, deduction means the process of reasoning from general premises to a specific, logical conclusion.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient deducere "to lead away, to bring down", to lead away, to bring down, from de- (down) and ducere (to lead).
- Stage 2 · English · 1400s deduction "reasoning from general principles to a specific conclusion", settled as the English word for reasoning from general principles to a specific conclusion.