teleology
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teleology
- /ˌtiːliˈɒləd͡ʒi/ UK
- /ˌtɛ-/ UK
- /ˌtɛliˈɑləd͡ʒi/ US
- /ˌti-/ US
Rhymes with -ɒlədʒi
Where it comes from
Partly borrowed from French téléologie and from German Teleologie + English -logy (suffix denoting a branch of learning or study of a particular subject). Téléologie and Teleologie are both derived from Late Latin teleologia, from Ancient Greek τέλεος (téleos) (the genitive singular of τέλος (télos, “final cause, purpose”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to turn end-over-end; to revolve around, hence, to dwell, sojourn”)) + Latin -logia (suffix denoting the logical discourse or study of a subject) (from Ancient Greek -λογῐ́ᾱ (-logĭ́ā, suffix denoting a branch of learning or study of a particular subject), from λόγος (lógos, “that which is said or thought; subject matter”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to collect, gather”)) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns)). By surface analysis, teleo- (prefix meaning ‘end, goal, purpose’) + -logy.
noun teleologies
- The study of the design or final purpose of natural occurrences, that is, of such occurrences being the result of intention instead of prior causes. The received intellectual tradition has it that, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, revolutionary philosophers began to curtail and reject the teleology of the medieval and scholastic Aristotelians, abandoning final causes in favor of a purely mechanistic model of the Universe.
-
Design, final purpose, or intention in a natural occurrence; (countable) an assertion or instance of this.
Their proposed explanation at the time was riddled with teleology.
Opposite: dysteleology
- The belief or theory that a natural occurrence is the result of divine design or intention rather than the laws of nature or science; theoteleology; (countable) a particular belief or theory of this sort.
Translations
Every language
noun study of the design or final purpose of natural occurrences
| Español | teleología |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 목적론 mokjeongnon |
| 日本語 | 目的論 mokutekiron |
| 中文 | 目的論 /目的论 mùdìlùn |
| हिन्दी | उद्देश्यवाद uddeśyavād |
| Português | teleologia |
| Français | téléologie |
| Deutsch | Teleologie |
| Italiano | teleologia |
| Ελληνικά | τελεολογία teleología |
| Română | teleologie |
| Русский | телеоло́гия teleológija |
| Tiếng Việt | cứu cánh luận, mục đích luận |
| العربية | غائية |
| עברית | טלאולוגיה |
noun design, final purpose, or intention in a natural occurrence; an assertion or instance of this
| 中文 | 目的論 /目的论 mùdìlùn |
|---|---|
| Português | teleologia |
| Русский | телеоло́гия teleológija |
Talk about this word "teleology." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/teleology. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. teleology. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/teleology "teleology." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/teleology.Cite this
@misc{teleology_2026,
title = {teleology},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/teleology},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
