paradox

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The first text we have that actually tries to solve the paradox is an anonymous treatise from the very end of the twelfth or the very early thirteenth century (De Rijk 1966).

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Definitions (12)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. noun A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true: the paradox that standing is more tiring than walking.
  2. noun One exhibiting inexplicable or contradictory aspects: "The silence of midnight, to speak truly, though apparently a paradox, rung in my ears” (Mary Shelley).
  3. noun An assertion that is essentially self-contradictory, though based on a valid deduction from acceptable premises.
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Examples

  • Yiao-Captain has never been gratuitously cruel, nor let others be when he had any control over them. —  Inconstant Star
  • The first text we have that actually tries to solve the paradox is an anonymous treatise from the very end of the twelfth or the very early thirteenth century (De Rijk 1966). —  Insolubles
  • But just as the grandfather paradox is a crude way of making a point, so this new paradox is a crude way of indicating that it is going to be difficult to specify what it means to be a time machine. —  Time Machines
  • (This paradox is also known as the paradox of 1001 cats; Geach 1980, —  Relative Identity
  • "To give you some background, the word paradox is Latin for 'beyond opinion.' —  Jonathan Farrington's Blog
 

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin paradoxum, from Greek paradoxon, from neuter sing. of paradoxos, conflicting with expectation : para-, beyond; see para-1 + doxa, opinion (from dokein, to think; see dek- in Indo-European roots).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from French paradoxe = Spanish paradoja = Portuguese paradoxo = Italian paradosso, from Late Latin paradoxum a figure of speech, from Greek παράδοξον, an incredible statement or opinion, a paradox, neuter of παράδοξος, incredible, from παρά, beyond, + δόξα, notion, belief, from δοκεῖν seem.
 

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/ˈpærədɑks/
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