different between imaginary vs ostensible

English

Etymology

From Middle French imaginaire, from Latin im?gin?rius (“relating to images, fancied”), from im?g?.

The mathematical sense derives from René Descartes's use (of the French imaginaire) in 1637, La Geometrie, to ridicule the notion of regarding non-real roots of polynomials as numbers. Although Descartes' usage was derogatory, the designation stuck even after the concept gained acceptance in the 18th century.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??mæd??n(?)?i/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??mæd???n??i/

Adjective

imaginary (comparative more imaginary, superlative most imaginary)

1. Existing only in the imagination.

   • Wilt thou add to all the griefs I suffer / Imaginary ills and fancied tortures?

2. (mathematics, of a number) Having no real part; that part of a complex number which is a multiple of ${\displaystyle {\sqrt {-1}}}$ (called imaginary unit).

Synonyms

• (existing only in the imagination): all in one's head

Derived terms

• imaginarily
• imaginariness
• imaginarity
• imaginary number
• imaginary unit

Translations

Noun

imaginary (plural imaginaries)

1. Imagination; fancy. [from 16th c.]
   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 324:

     By then too Mozart's opera, from Da Ponte's libretto, had made Figaro a stock character in the European imaginary and set the whole Continent whistling Mozartian airs and chuckling at Figaresque humour.
2. (mathematics) An imaginary quantity. [from 18th c.]
3. (sociology) The set of values, institutions, laws, and symbols common to a particular social group and the corresponding society through which people imagine their social whole.

References

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French ostensible, formed, with the suffix -ible, from Latin ostensus, the past participle of ostend? (“show”), itself from obs- (“in front of”) (akin to ob- (“in the way”) and to Ancient Greek ??? (epí, “on, at, besides, after”) and Old English eofot (“crime”)) + tend? (“stretch”) (akin to Ancient Greek ????? (teín?)). Cf. also Medieval Latin ostensibilis.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??st?ns.?.b?l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??st?ns.?.b?l/
• Hyphenation: os?ten?si?ble

Adjective

ostensible (comparative more ostensible, superlative most ostensible)

1. Apparent, evident; meant for open display.
   • 1956–1960, R.S. Peters, The Concept of Motivation, Routledge & Kegan Paul (second edition, 1960), chapter ii: “Motives and Motivation”, page 32:

     Motives, of course, may be mixed; but this only means that a man aims at a variety of goals by means of the same course of action. Similarly a man may have a strong motive or a weak one, an ulterior motive or an ostensible one.

   • In witch-trials the conflict was officially defined as between the accused and God, or between the accused and the Catholic (later Protestant) church, as God's earthly representative. [...]
     Behind the ostensible conflict of the witch-trial lay the usual conflicts of social class, values, and human relationships.

   • 2016 January 26, "When ‘Made In Israel’ Is a Human Rights Abuse," The New York Times (retrieved 26 January 2016):

     The ostensible reason this provision was added to a bill on international trade is to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a grass-roots campaign that seeks to pressure Israel to change its policies toward the Palestinians.

2. Appearing as such; being such in appearance; professed, supposed (rather than demonstrably true or real).

   The ostensible reason for his visit to New York was to see his mother, but the real reason was to get to the Yankees game the next day.

Antonyms

• (meant for open display): ulterior

Derived terms

• ostensibility
• ostensibly

Related terms

• ostensive
• ostentatious
• ostentation

Translations

References

• ostensible at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• bilestones

French

Etymology

Formed, with the suffix -ible, from Latin ostensus, past participle of ostend? (“I show”), itself from obs- in front of (akin to ob- in the way; akin to Greek epi 'on, at, besides, after' and Old English eofot crime) + tend? (“I stretch”) (Greek teinein); or borrowed from Medieval Latin ostensibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s.t??.sibl/

Adjective

ostensible (plural ostensibles)

1. apparent

Derived terms

• ostensiblement

Related terms

• ostentateur
• ostentatoire

Further reading

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

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin ostensibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /osten?sible/, [os.t??n?si.??le]

Adjective

ostensible (plural ostensibles)

1. ostensible, apparent

Derived terms

• ostensiblemente

Related terms

• ostentar