different between empirical vs putative

English

Etymology

From empiric +? -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?p???k?l/

Adjective

empirical (comparative more empirical, superlative most empirical)

1. Pertaining to or based on experience (often, in contrast with having a basis in theoretical explanation).

   Antonym: theoretical

   • H. Spencer

     The village carpenter […] lays out his work by empirical rules learnt in his apprenticeship.

2. Pertaining to, derived from, or testable by observations made using the physical senses or using instruments which extend the senses.
3. (philosophy of science) Verifiable by means of scientific experimentation.

   Antonyms: anecdotal, theoretical

Synonyms

• empiric

Antonyms

• nonempirical

Coordinate terms

• conceptual
• theoretical
• anecdotal

Derived terms

Related terms

• empiricism
• empiricist

Translations

See also

• empirical evidence
• anecdotal evidence
• trial and error
• empyrical

Further reading

• empirical in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• empirical in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• empirical at OneLook Dictionary Search
• "empirical" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 115.

English

Etymology

First attested 1432, from Middle French putatif, from Latin put?t?vus (“supposed, purported”), from put?tus (“thought”), from put? (“I think, I consider, I reckon”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?pju.t?.t?v/

Adjective

putative (comparative more putative, superlative most putative)

1. Commonly believed or deemed to be the case; accepted by supposition rather than as a result of proof.

   Synonyms: ostensible, purported, reputed, supposed

   • 1879, Maurice Mauris, "A Materialistic Artist," New York Times, 9 Nov., p. 10:

     [T]he lady . . . insisted upon going herself, requesting me to mind for a second the baby. . . . lo! the baby awoke and stared at me with a pair of big frightened eyes, which the little thing in another moment rolled in all directions, as if in search of its putative mother.

   • 1989, William E. Colby and Jeremy J. Stone, "US must support Thailand if Cambodia is to survive," Milwaukee Sentinel (Los Angeles Times Service), 28 Oct. (retrieved 15 Sep. 2009):

     Just as Prince Sihanouk is fronting for the Khmer Rouge today . . . so also was he their putative leader from 1970 to 1975.

   • 2006, Unmesh Kher, "No Neat Endings for the JonBenet Case," Time, 18 Aug.:

     Karr's past does raise suspicions. When he was arrested in Bangkok, he was living in a dormitory-like guesthouse in a neighborhood frequented by sex tourists. . . . Of course, Karr's putative pedophilia would not make him guilty of murder.

Translations

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /py.ta.tiv/
• Homophone: putatives

Adjective

putative

1. feminine singular of putatif

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

putative

1. inflection of putativ:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pu.ta?ti.ve/
• Hyphenation: pu?ta?tì?ve

Adjective

putative

1. feminine plural of putativo