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metaphysics

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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionarymeta·phys·ics \-ˈfi-ziks\ noun plural but singular in construction ETYMOLOGY Medieval Latin Metaphysica, title of Aristotle's treatise on the subject, from Greek (ta) meta (ta) physika, literally, the (works) after the physical (works); from its position in his collected works DATE 15691. a. (1) a division of philosophy that is concerned with the fundamental nature of reality and being and that includes ontology, cosmology, and often epistemology (2) ontology 2 b. abstract philosophical studies : a study of what is outside objective experience2. metaphysic 2English Etymologymetaphysics late 14c., "branch of speculation which deals with the first causes of things," from M.L. metaphysica, neut. pl. of Medieval Gk. (ta) metaphysika, from Gk. ta meta ta physika "the (works) after the Physics," title of the 13 treatises which traditionally were arranged after those on physics and natural sciences in Aristotle's writings. The name was given c.70 B.C.E. by Andronicus of Rhodes, and was a ref. to the customary ordering of the books, but it was misinterpreted by L. writers as meaning "the science of what is beyond the physical." Hence, metaphysical came to be used in the sense of "abstract, speculative" (e.g. by Johnson, who applied it to certain 17c. poets, notably Donne and Cowley, who used "witty conceits" and abstruse imagery). The word originally was used in English in the singular; plural form predominated after 17c., but singular made a comeback late 19c. in certain usages under German influence.Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7metaphysicsmeta·phys·ics / 7metE5fiziks / noun[U] the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of existence, truth and knowledge 形而上学；玄学• meta·phys·ic·al / 7metE5fizikl / adj.: metaphysical problems / speculation 形而上学的问题/思辨 Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridgedmeta·phys·ics\| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷|fiziks, -zēks\ noun plural but usually singular in constructionEtymology: plural of metaphysic (I); rendering of Medieval Latin metaphysica, neuter plural, from Greek (ta) meta (ta) physika the (works) after the physics, the things after those relating to external nature; from the fact that this section of the collected works of Aristotle died 322 B.C. Greek philosopher was reputedly so designated by the editor, Andronicus of Rhodes fl 1st century B.C. Greek philosopher in Rome, because it came after the physics1. a. (1) : a division of philosophy that includes ontology and cosmology < metaphysics … treats of the relations obtaining between the underlying reality and its manifestations — Fred Sommers > < metaphysics … analyzes the generic traits manifested by existences of any kind — J.H.Randall > < metaphysics, or the attempt to conceive the world as a whole by means of thought, has been developed, from the first, by the union and conflict of two very different human impulses, the one urging men towards mysticism, the other urging them towards science — Bertrand Russell > (2) : ontology and epistemology < metaphysics as a philosophic discipline … concerned with the nature of the real only so far as that problem is amenable to the reflective method — C.I.Lewis > (3) : ontology b. (1) : something that deals with what is beyond the physical or the experiential (2) : the more abstruse philosophical sciences < the mathematics and the metaphysics, fall to them as you find your stomach serves you — Shakespeare >2. : metaphysic 2 < differentiates between a theory of esthetic experience and a metaphysics of beauty — J.G.Brennan > < each language … conceals a unique metaphysics — B.L.Whorf > < erected a metaphysics on this fundamental antagonism of vitality or “Life” … and what he calls “Spirit” — V.C.Aldrich >3. : the Christian Science system of mental healing

Metaphysics C Ta Noun Plural Singular Greek Meta