a posteriori
adjective, adverb
- adjective (logic, philosophy) Involving induction of theories from facts.
- adjective (linguistics, conlanging) Of a constructed language, Developed on a basis of languages which already exist.
- adverb (logic) In a manner that deduces theories from facts.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin ā posteriōrī (“involving reasoning from effect to cause, from experience to theory”, literally “from what follows”). Popularized from the 19th century in reference to the work of Immanuel Kant.
Webster’s 1913
- Characterizing that kind of reasoning which derives propositions from the observation of facts, or by generalizations from facts arrives at principles and definitions, or infers causes from effects. This is the reverse of a priori reasoning.
- Applied to knowledge which is based upon or derived from facts through induction or experiment; inductive or empirical.
Etymology [L. a (ab) + posterior latter.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “a posteriori”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details