Apedia

Poe Reasoning Ratiocination Detective February Noun Rat Ee Oh Suh Nay Shun Edgar

Word ratiocination
Date February 6, 2019
Type noun
Syllables rat-ee-oh-suh-NAY-shun
Etymology Edgar Allan Poe is said to have called the 1841 story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" his first "tale of ratiocination." Many today agree with his assessment and consider that Poe classic to be literature's first detective story. Poe didn't actually use ratiocination in "Rue Morgue," but the term does appear three times in its 1842 sequel, "The Mystery of Marie Roget." In "Marie Roget," the author proved his reasoning ability (ratiocination traces to ratio, Latin for "reason" or "computation"). The second tale was based on an actual murder, and as the case unfolded after the publication of Poe's work, it became clear that his fictional detective had done an amazing job of reasoning through the crime.
Examples "It is beginning to look like television may soon kill not only the theater and the movies but radio, books, magazines, newspapers, and finally articulate speech and all the processes of ratiocination." — Aldous Huxley, letter, 14 Feb. 1949

"Ratiocination is a trained, disciplined procedure of arriving at truth—a use of reason and perspicacity so precise it's almost supernatural." — Virginia Heffernan, Wired, June 2018
Definition 1 : the process of exact thinking : reasoning
2 : a reasoned train of thought

Tags: wordoftheday::noun

Learn with these flashcards. Click next, previous, or up to navigate to more flashcards for this subject.

Next card: Mettlesome century adjective spirited variant 16th mettle spirit

Previous card: Meaning abstruse adjective latin trudere english descendant february

Up to card list: Word of the Day