posteriori
|pos-te-ri-o-ri|
🇺🇸
/ˌpɑːstəriˈɔːri/
🇬🇧
/ˌpɒstəriˈɒːri/
from later / from experience
Etymology
'posteriori' ultimately originates from Latin, specifically from the comparative adjective 'posterior' (from 'posterus'), where Latin 'posterus' meant 'coming after'.
'posteriori' entered English usage via Medieval and Scholastic Latin as part of the phrase 'a posteriori' and was adopted into English philosophical vocabulary to express reasoning from experience.
Initially related to the simple sense of 'coming after' or 'later'; in philosophical use it evolved to mean 'based on observation/experience' (i.e., knowledge obtained after the fact).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
derived from or relating to experience or empirical observation (used chiefly in philosophy).
posteriori knowledge is based on observation rather than pure reason.
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Adverb 1
in a manner that proceeds from observed facts to general principles; from effect to cause.
The hypothesis was accepted posteriori, after the experiments were repeated.
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Last updated: 2025/12/27 21:10