Philosophy & ThoughtGreek → English
Socratic
/səˈkrætɪk/adjective
Relating to teaching by persistent questioning rather than instruction.
The Greek roots
Σωκράτης
Sōkrátēs
Socrates, Athenian philosopher
Literally: “of Socrates”
Follow a root:Σωκράτης1 word
The story of the word
Socrates published nothing, so the adjective can only describe a method: question after question until the confident answer falls apart, with the questioner claiming to know nothing throughout. English formed the word in the 1630s from Σωκράτης, a name that parses as safe power. How much of the method in Plato's dialogues belongs to Socrates and how much to Plato is an argument scholars have never settled.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
Same family
SocratesPlatonicAristotelianirony
In a sentence
The seminar was Socratic in the worst sense: nobody was allowed to be right for more than a minute.