"beg the question" meaning in English

See beg the question in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Forms: begs the question [present, singular, third-person], begging the question [participle, present], begged the question [participle, past], begged the question [past]
Etymology: From Latin petitio principii, from Ancient Greek τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ αἰτεῖσθαι (tò en arkhêi aiteîsthai, “to assume from the beginning”). Etymology templates: {{uder|en|la|petitio principii}} Latin petitio principii, {{uder|en|grc|τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ αἰτεῖσθαι||to assume from the beginning}} Ancient Greek τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ αἰτεῖσθαι (tò en arkhêi aiteîsthai, “to assume from the beginning”) Head templates: {{en-verb|*}} beg the question (third-person singular simple present begs the question, present participle begging the question, simple past and past participle begged the question)
  1. (philosophy, logic, law) To engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii). Categories (topical): Law, Logic, Philosophy, Logical fallacies Related terms: begging the question, question the question Translations (to engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii)): olettaa johtopäätös todeksi (Finnish), esittää kehäpäätelmä (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-beg_the_question-en-verb-Mvzk5zS9 Disambiguation of Logical fallacies: 95 2 3 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English undefined derivations, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with German translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 73 9 19 Disambiguation of English undefined derivations: 65 14 21 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 69 15 16 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 68 11 21 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 76 12 12 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 78 11 11 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 70 15 15 Topics: human-sciences, law, logic, mathematics, philosophy, sciences Disambiguation of 'to engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii)': 95 2 3
  2. To sidestep or fail to address a question. Translations (to sidestep or fail to address a question): sivuuttaa kysymys (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-beg_the_question-en-verb-pYiN693q Disambiguation of 'to sidestep or fail to address a question': 4 90 5
  3. (sometimes proscribed) To raise or prompt a question. Tags: proscribed, sometimes Translations (to raise or prompt a question): herättää kysymys (Finnish), zu der Frage drängen (German), die Frage hervorrufen (German)
    Sense id: en-beg_the_question-en-verb-hbkB0L5N Disambiguation of 'to raise or prompt a question': 5 6 89

Inflected forms

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  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "petitio principii"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin petitio principii",
      "name": "uder"
    },
    {
      "args": {
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        "2": "grc",
        "3": "τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ αἰτεῖσθαι",
        "4": "",
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      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ αἰτεῖσθαι (tò en arkhêi aiteîsthai, “to assume from the beginning”)",
      "name": "uder"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin petitio principii, from Ancient Greek τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ αἰτεῖσθαι (tò en arkhêi aiteîsthai, “to assume from the beginning”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "begs the question",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
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    },
    {
      "form": "begging the question",
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        "participle",
        "present"
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    },
    {
      "form": "begged the question",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
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    },
    {
      "form": "begged the question",
      "tags": [
        "past"
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  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Law",
          "orig": "en:Law",
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          "parents": [],
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        {
          "_dis": "95 2 3",
          "kind": "topical",
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          "orig": "en:Logical fallacies",
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            "Formal sciences",
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            "Fundamental"
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        {
          "ref": "1994, D. N. Walton, “Begging the question as a pragmatic fallacy.”, in Synthese, volume 100, number 1:",
          "text": "The objection is that the argument begs the question, meaning that the premise, that God has all the virtues, assumes the conclusion, that God is benevolent.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii)."
      ],
      "id": "en-beg_the_question-en-verb-Mvzk5zS9",
      "links": [
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          "philosophy",
          "philosophy"
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          "logic"
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        ],
        [
          "logical",
          "logical"
        ],
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          "fallacy",
          "fallacy"
        ],
        [
          "begging the question",
          "begging the question"
        ],
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          "petitio principii",
          "petitio principii"
        ]
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        "(philosophy, logic, law) To engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii)."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "57 19 24",
          "word": "begging the question"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "57 19 24",
          "word": "question the question"
        }
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      "topics": [
        "human-sciences",
        "law",
        "logic",
        "mathematics",
        "philosophy",
        "sciences"
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        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii)",
          "word": "olettaa johtopäätös todeksi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "95 2 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii)",
          "word": "esittää kehäpäätelmä"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1860, Henry Adams, letter, 6 May\nHowever I hope we shall do better as we go on and as long as there's no dodging or begging the question on our side, I'm not afraid."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To sidestep or fail to address a question."
      ],
      "id": "en-beg_the_question-en-verb-pYiN693q",
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        {
          "_dis1": "4 90 5",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to sidestep or fail to address a question",
          "word": "sivuuttaa kysymys"
        }
      ]
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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Three people were hurt in the fire at the warehouse last night, which begs the question: what were they doing there in the first place?",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2024 March 6, Steve Edwards discusses with Anthony Lambert, “The bedrock of urban renewal”, in RAIL, number 1004, page 35:",
          "text": "Invariably, the principal object is to improve air quality. But those constraints beg the question: why has no city followed Nottingham's example of a workplace parking levy, which has generated about £10 million a year to finance the city's tram system?",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To raise or prompt a question."
      ],
      "id": "en-beg_the_question-en-verb-hbkB0L5N",
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          "raise",
          "raise"
        ],
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          "prompt",
          "prompt"
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      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(sometimes proscribed) To raise or prompt a question."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "proscribed",
        "sometimes"
      ],
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        {
          "_dis1": "5 6 89",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to raise or prompt a question",
          "word": "herättää kysymys"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "5 6 89",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to raise or prompt a question",
          "word": "zu der Frage drängen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "5 6 89",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to raise or prompt a question",
          "word": "die Frage hervorrufen"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
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    "begging the question"
  ],
  "word": "beg the question"
}
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    "English multiword terms",
    "English terms derived from Ancient Greek",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English undefined derivations",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
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      "name": "uder"
    }
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  "etymology_text": "From Latin petitio principii, from Ancient Greek τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ αἰτεῖσθαι (tò en arkhêi aiteîsthai, “to assume from the beginning”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "begs the question",
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        "third-person"
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      "form": "begging the question",
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      "form": "begged the question",
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      "word": "begging the question"
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          "ref": "1994, D. N. Walton, “Begging the question as a pragmatic fallacy.”, in Synthese, volume 100, number 1:",
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        "To engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii)."
      ],
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          "begging the question"
        ],
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          "petitio principii"
        ]
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        "(philosophy, logic, law) To engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii)."
      ],
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        "human-sciences",
        "law",
        "logic",
        "mathematics",
        "philosophy",
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    {
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        {
          "text": "1860, Henry Adams, letter, 6 May\nHowever I hope we shall do better as we go on and as long as there's no dodging or begging the question on our side, I'm not afraid."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To sidestep or fail to address a question."
      ]
    },
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        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Three people were hurt in the fire at the warehouse last night, which begs the question: what were they doing there in the first place?",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2024 March 6, Steve Edwards discusses with Anthony Lambert, “The bedrock of urban renewal”, in RAIL, number 1004, page 35:",
          "text": "Invariably, the principal object is to improve air quality. But those constraints beg the question: why has no city followed Nottingham's example of a workplace parking levy, which has generated about £10 million a year to finance the city's tram system?",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To raise or prompt a question."
      ],
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        [
          "raise",
          "raise"
        ],
        [
          "prompt",
          "prompt"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(sometimes proscribed) To raise or prompt a question."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "proscribed",
        "sometimes"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii)",
      "word": "olettaa johtopäätös todeksi"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to engage in the logical fallacy of begging the question (petitio principii)",
      "word": "esittää kehäpäätelmä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to sidestep or fail to address a question",
      "word": "sivuuttaa kysymys"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to raise or prompt a question",
      "word": "herättää kysymys"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to raise or prompt a question",
      "word": "zu der Frage drängen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to raise or prompt a question",
      "word": "die Frage hervorrufen"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "begging the question"
  ],
  "word": "beg the question"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.