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petitio principii

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petitio principii

  • /pɪˈtɪʃiˌəʊ prɪnˈkɪpiˌaɪ/ UK
  • /pəˈtɪʃiˌoʊ prɪnˈsɪpiˌaɪ/ US

Where it comes from

From Latin petītiō prīncipiī (literally “an assumption from the beginning”), calque of Ancient Greek τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ αἰτεῖσθαι (tò en arkhēî aiteîsthai, “to assume from the beginning”).

noun

  1. uncountable The logical fallacy of begging the question (i.e., "assuming the conclusion").
  2. countable A particular argument which commits the fallacy of begging the question; a circular argument. A somewhat similar objection has been made by Locke and others, to the effect that the ordinary demonstrative syllogism is a petitio principii.

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MLA

"petitio principii." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/petitio%20principii. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

petitio principii. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/petitio%20principii

Chicago

"petitio principii." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/petitio%20principii.

BibTeX
@misc{petitio_principii_2026,
  title = {petitio principii},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/petitio%20principii},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}