different between dictum vs argument

English

Etymology

From Latin dictum (“proverb, maxim”), from dictus (“having been said”), perfect passive participle of dico (“I say”). Compare Spanish dicho (“saying”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?d?k.t?m/

Noun

dictum (plural dicta or dictums)

1. An authoritative statement; a dogmatic saying; a maxim, an apothegm.
   • 1949, Bruce Kiskaddon, George R. Stewart, Earth Abides

     ...a dictum which he had heard an economics professor once propound...

2. A judicial opinion expressed by judges on points that do not necessarily arise in the case, and are not involved in it.
3. The report of a judgment made by one of the judges who has given it.
4. An arbitrament or award.

See also

• ipse dixit

Translations

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?dik.tum/, [?d??kt????]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?dik.tum/, [?d?ikt?um]

Etymology 1

Neuter form of dictus (“said, spoken”), past passive participle of d?c? (“to say, to speak”).

Noun

dictum n (genitive dict?); second declension

1. a word, saying, something said
2. proverb, maxim, saw
3. bon mot, witticism

   Synonym: dict?rium

4. verse, poetry
5. a prophesy, prediction
6. order, command
7. promise, assurance

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Related terms

Descendants

Further reading

• dictum in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• dictum in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• dictum in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• dictum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book?^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Participle

dictum

1. inflection of dictus:
   1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular
   2. accusative masculine singular

Verb

dictum

1. accusative supine of d?c?

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

dictum n (definite singular dictumet, indefinite plural dicta or dictum, definite plural dicta or dictaa or dictai or dictuma or dictumi)

1. form removed with the spelling reform of 2012; superseded by diktum

Spanish

Noun

dictum m (plural dictums)

1. dictum

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /????j?m?nt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /????j?m?nt/, /-?ju-/, /-?j?-/
• Hyphenation: ar?gu?ment

Etymology 1

From Middle English argument, from Anglo-Norman and Old French arguement, from Latin arg?mentum (“argument (for a position); evidence, proof; point, theme; thesis, topic; plot (in theatre)”), from arguere + -mentum (suffix indicating the instrument, medium, or result of something). Arguere is the present active infinitive of argu? (“to argue, assert, declare; to make clear, prove, show; to accuse, charge with, reprove; to blame, censure; to denounce as false”), either ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h?er?- (“silver, white; glittering”), or from Hittite [script needed] (arkuw?(i)-, “to make a plea, state one’s case”). The English word is analysable as argue +? -ment.

Noun

argument (countable and uncountable, plural arguments)

1. (countable, also figuratively) A fact or statement used to support a proposition; a reason.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:argument

   1. (logic, philosophy) A series of propositions organized so that the final proposition is a conclusion which is intended to follow logically from the preceding propositions, which function as premises.
2. (countable) A process of reasoning; argumentation.
3. (countable) An abstract or summary, as of the contents of a book, chapter, or poem; (figuratively) the contents themselves.
4. (countable) A verbal dispute; a quarrel.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dispute
6. (countable, linguistics) Any of the phrases that bears a syntactic connection to the verb of a clause.
7. (countable, mathematics)
   1. The independent variable of a function.
   2. The phase of a complex number.
   3. (also astronomy) A quantity on which the calculation of another quantity depends.

8. (countable, programming)
   1. A value, or a reference to a value, passed to a function.

      Synonyms: actual argument, passed parameter

   2. A parameter at a function call; an actual parameter, as opposed to a formal parameter.
9. (countable, obsolete)
   1. A matter in question; a business in hand.
   2. The subject matter of an artistic representation, discourse, or writing; a theme or topic.
10. (uncountable, archaic) Evidence, proof; (countable) an item of such evidence or proof.

Usage notes

• Adjectives often used with argument: valid, invalid, correct, incorrect, right, wrong, strong, weak, convincing, unconvincing, conclusive, inconclusive, fallacious, simple, straightforward, inductive, deductive, logical, illogical, absurd, specious, flawed.
• (parameter at a function call): some authors regard the use of argument to mean “formal parameter” to be imprecise, preferring that argument be used to refer only to the value that is used to instantiate the parameter at runtime, while parameter refers only to the name in the function definition that will be instantiated.

Alternative forms

• arguement (obsolete)

Meronyms

• (logic): conclusion, premise, proposition

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

The obsolete senses are derived from Middle English argumenten (“to argue, discuss; to consider, reflect”), from Old French argumenter (“to argue”), from Latin arg?ment?r?, the present active infinitive of arg?mentor (“to adduce arguments or proof, prove, reason; to adduce (something) as argument or proof; to conclude”), from arg?mentum (“argument (for a position); evidence, proof; point, theme; thesis, topic; plot (in theatre)”) (see further at etymology 1) +? -or (the first-person singular present passive indicative of -? (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)).

The current sense is derived from the noun.

Verb

argument (third-person singular simple present arguments, present participle argumenting, simple past and past participle argumented)

1. (intransitive, obsolete, now nonstandard, non-native speakers' English) To put forward as an argument; to argue.
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To adduce evidence, to provide proof.

Conjugation

References

Further reading

• argument on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• argument of a function on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• argument (literature) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• argument (linguistics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• argument (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• argument in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• argument in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin arg?mentum.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /??.?u?ment/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /?r.?u?men/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /a?.?u?ment/

Noun

argument m (plural arguments)

1. argument (reason)
2. (computing) argument
3. plot, storyline
4. (mathematics) argument
5. (grammar) argument

Related terms

• argumentar

Further reading

• “argument” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “argument” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “argument” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “argument” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?ar?um?nt]

Noun

argument m

1. argument (fact or statement used to support a proposition)

Declension

Derived terms

• pseudoargument
• protiargument

Related terms

• argumentace

See also

• parametr m

Further reading

• argument in P?íru?ní slovník jazyka ?eského, 1935–1957
• argument in Slovník spisovného jazyka ?eského, 1960–1971, 1989

Danish

Noun

argument n (singular definite argumentet, plural indefinite argumenter)

1. argument

Declension

Related terms

• argumentere

References

• “argument” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin arg?mentum, from argu? (“prove, argue”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a?.?y.m??/

Noun

argument m (plural arguments)

1. argument

2. (grammar) argument of a verb, phrase syntactically connected to a verb (object and subject)

Derived terms

• argumentaire
• argumenter
  • argumentation

Related terms

• arguer

See also

• (grammar): valence

Further reading

• “argument” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin argumentum

Noun

argument n (definite singular argumentet, indefinite plural argument or argumenter, definite plural argumenta or argumentene)

1. argument

Related terms

• argumentere
• argumentasjon

References

• “argument” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin argumentum

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?r???m?nt/

Noun

argument n (definite singular argumentet, indefinite plural argument, definite plural argumenta)

1. argument

Related terms

• argumentasjon

References

• “argument” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

From Latin arg?mentum

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ar??u.m?nt/

Noun

argument m inan

1. point, argument (fact or statement used to support a proposition)
2. (philosophy, logic, mathematics, programming) argument

Declension

Synonyms

• uzasadnienie, racja, pod?o?e, podstawa, przes?anka, powód,
• dowód, operand, parametr

Related terms

• argumentacja

Further reading

• argument in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

From French argument, from Latin argumentum.

Noun

argument n (plural argumente)

1. argument

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ar??ment/
• Hyphenation: ar?gu?ment

Noun

argùment m (Cyrillic spelling ?????????)

1. argument (fact or statement used to support a proposition)
2. (philosophy, logic, mathematics, programming) argument

Declension

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

argument n

1. an argument supporting a stance
2. (mathematics) an argument; an independent variable passed to a function
3. (programming) an argument; a variable passed to a function

Declension