From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsyllogismsyl‧lo‧gis‧m /ˈsɪlədʒɪzəm/ noun [countable] technical RPa statement with three parts, the first two of which prove that the third part is true, for example ‘all men will die, Socrates is a man, therefore Socrates will die’ —syllogistic /ˌsɪləˈdʒɪstɪk◂/ adjective
Examples from the Corpus
syllogism• In the course of forensic argument distorted syllogisms will of course be urged upon those who judge.• It was taught dogmatically, with much logic-chopping and illustrative syllogisms.• Like the Gnostics, he based his spirituality on direct experience rather than on syllogisms.• It was on the basis of that syllogism that the connection between schools and parents developed for another decade or more.• The third appears to be a deduction from the first two, but the syllogism is false.• The adjective that forms part of the syllogism is one that has come to form a sort of collocation with the noun.Origin syllogism (1300-1400) Old French silogisme, from Latin, from Greek syllogismos, from syllogizesthai “to argue by syllogisms”, from syn- ( → SYN-) + logizesthai “to calculate” 