Where does “reductionism” come from?
Reductionism derives from English reduction, Ancient Greek -ισμός, Ancient Greek -μός, Latin reductio meaning a leading back, Latin reduco, Latin duco meaning to lead, Proto-Indo-European dewk-, and Proto-Indo-European déwketi.
reductionism (English): An approach to studying complex systems or ideas...
Definitions
- An approach to studying complex systems or ideas...
Ancestry of “reductionism”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | reduction | The act, process, or result of reducing; The... |
| 2 | Middle English | reduccion | — |
| 3 | Old French | reducion | — |
| 4 | Latin | reductio | A bringing back, a leading back; A restoring,... |
| 5 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 6 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 7 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 8 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 9 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 10 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 11 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |