CHAPTER FOUR

DEFINITION
I. Introduction
We have learned in Chapter 3 that some terms have more
than one meaning, and unless the terms are properly defined,
there will certainly be ambiguities. To avoid vagueness and
verbal dispute, we must define our terms.
To define a term is to explain its meaning. In a definition,
the term to be defined is called definiendum, while the
defining term is called definiens. In this example, “Man is a
rational animal”, the definiendum is “man” and the definiens is
“rational animal”. The definiens, however, is not the meaning
of the definiendum, but a symbol which has the same meaning
as the definiendum. In a diagram, this is what we have:

Definiendum (term to be defined)

Definition
Definiens (defining term)
TYPES OF DEFINITION
We have two main division of definition: the nominal and
the real. We present their nature and subdivisions.
A. Nominal Definition
Nominal definition expresses what the name means, not
what the thing is. It circumscribes the precise meaning of a
given period without going into its real nature. Nominal
definition is required when a new term is introduced into the
vocabulary, or if one wants to clarify the meaning of an
ambiguous term. There are three kinds of nominal definition:
Ostensive (demonstrative) definition – indicates the
meaning of a term by showing or pointing at the object (from
the Latin “ostendere” meaning “to point” or “to show”). This
type of definition is often used when the term is difficult to
define verbally. One may explain the meaning of a “table”, for
instance, by pointing at it. If asked what a “ballpen” is, one
may get a ballpen and show it. A person may attempt to
answer the question, “What does waltz mean?” by dancing it.
Asked about an asterisk, one may draw it: *. “What is a
dollar?” It is $. Proper names are also defined ostensively; one
may point to Pope Francis’ picture if asked who our Pope is.
As seen from the given examples, ostensive definition is a
nonlinguistic method of defining a term, and is considered by
many logicians as the fundamental or primitive type of
definition.
Synonymous definition – gives the same connotation of
the term. The definition is so exact as to replace the one with
the other in any context without shift in meaning.
“saccharides”, for instance, is defined as “carbohydrates”. One
may say “snooty” to mean, “haughty”. “Mendacious” means,
“lying”; “reprise” means “repeat”. Synonymous definition can
also be a translation: “Prima facie” means “at first sight”;
“soleil” means, “sun”; “fuhrer” means “leader”.
Etymological definition – gives the origin of the word.
Examples:
Hypothermia (“hypo”, below; “therm”, heat) means low
body temperature.
Perambulate (“per”, through; “ambul”, walk) means to
walk through.
Reflection (“re”, again; “flex”, to bend) means the process
of thinking again.
Circumspect (“circum”, around; “spect”, look) means
wary and unwilling to take risks.
Acrophobia (“acro”, high; “phobia”, fear) means the fear
of height.
B. Real Definition
Real definition tells us what the thing is, not just what the
word means. It digs deeper into the nature of a thing of which
we somehow have a vague knowledge. All real definitions are
nominal definition, but not vice-versa. While nominal definition
allows us to identify the term under consideration, real
definition clarified the question regarding its nature. Real
definition is subdivided into two categories: essential and non-
essential.

Essential definition – it is a definition that is constructed

by genus and specific difference. Examples:

“Man” is a “rational animal”. This is a definition of man by its

genus and specific difference. Man belongs to the genus
“animal” and is distinguished from other species belonging to
that genus by “rationality”.
“Snake” is a scaly, legless, sometimes venomous reptile
having a long, tapering, cylindrical body and found in most
tropical and temperate regions.
“Decagon” is a polygon with ten sides. The term “polygon”
refers to a general class that contains decagons as a subclass;
the term “with ten sides” refers to the distinguishing mark that
sets it apart from other polygons.
 Non-essential definition – gives the more notable
characteristics of a thing. Here are its subdivisions:

a. Distinctive definition – (definition by property) gives

the natural characteristics of a thing that follows
necessarily from the essence of the thing. Examples:
Man is capable of distinguishing what is morally right
and what is morally wrong.
Oxygen is a gas 1.105 times as heavy as air.
A triangle has interior angles equal to two right angles.
b. Genetic definition – furnishes the mode of the origin of
a thing. It describes how something is produced.
Examples:
Caesarian section is an operation for delivering a
child by cutting through the walls of the abdomen.
Circle is figure formed by revolving a line in plane
reaching one of its ends.
Earthquake is the trembling of the land surface due
to the faulting of the rocks.
Tsunami is a long high sea wave caused by
underwater earthquake.
Hiccup is an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm
and respiratory organs, with a sudden closure of the
glottis and a characteristic sound like that of a cough.
c. Causal definition – describes a thing by its efficient and
final cause.
Definition by Efficient Cause – gives the producer of a
thing.
Examples:
“Al-Qaida” is an international terrorist organization
created by Osama Bin Laden.
“Web page” is a virtual page made by a webmaster.
“Les Miserables” is an 1862 novel by Victor Hugo.
“Inferiority complex” is a concept introduced by Alfred
Afler, an Austrian psychiatrist.

Definition by Final Cause – gives the purpose or end on

account of which a thing is produced.
Examples:
“Spacecraft” is a vehicle used for traveling in space.
“Weapon” is designed to inflict bodily harm or physical
damage to something or to someone.
“Sedative” is a drug for inducing sleep.

Accidental definition – explains a thing by giving

characteristics that are contingently connected with it. The
color of the human hair is an accident, for it belongs in no way
to the essence of humanity. Other examples:

The typhoon is tremendously strong.

Judas Iscariot hanged himself.

 The sitcom is hilarious.

II. RULES OF GOOD DEFINITION

Definition can go wrong at times. To avoid committing

bad definitions, here are the rules that govern the construction
of good definitions.

 A definition should avoid vagueness and ambiguity. A

highly theoretical definition and figurative language must
be avoided. Definition must be presented in a language
an average person is likely to understand. It must,
therefore, be user-friendly. Definitions have to be written
for potential users taking their knowledge and
background into account. Definitions that are written for a
lower level might not draw sophisticated distinctions that
a proficient user need, while a higher-level definition
might not suit the needs of inexperienced people. Further,
definitions must not be misleading. Those that do not
satisfy this criterion are said to be either obscure or
figurative.

OBSCURE DEFINITIONS

Net is the reticulated fabric decussate at regular intervals

with interstices and intersections. – Samuel Johnson

Disjunction is a truth-functionally compound proposition

whose disjuncts called atomic components are interposed
by the binary connective called wedge.

Sugar: a sweet crystallizable material that consists

wholly or essentially of sucrose, is colorless or white when
pure tending to brown when less refined, is obtained
commercially from sugarcane or sugar beef and less
extensively from sorghum, maples, and palms, and is
important as a source of dietary carbohydrate and as a
sweetener and preservative of other foods.

Blush is a temporary erythema and calorific effulgence of

the physiognomy, aetiotized by the perceptiveness of the
sensorium, in a predicament of inequilibrity from a sense
of shame, anger or other cause, eventuating in a paresis
of the vaso-motorial, muscular filaments of the facial
capillaries, whereby, being divested of their elasticity,
they become suffused with a radiance emanating from an
intimidated praecordia. (Did you understand it?)

The term “blush” could have been defined simply as

the “reddening of the face due to shame, anger and other
cause of similar nature”, and an average person would
have understood it better.
 Inquiry is the controlled or directed transformation of an
indeterminate situation into one that is so determinate in
its constituent distinctions and relations as to convert the
elements of the original situation into a unified whole”.
(John Dewey, Logic: The Theory of Inquiry, Holt, 1938,
104).

Figurative Definitions

Love is a sweet misery.

Marriage is a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot
be separated, often moving in opposite directions, yet
always punishing anyone who comes between them.
Sydney Smith
Bachelor is a man happier than others.
Patriotism is the conviction that your country is superior
to all others because you were born in it.
Peace is a period of cheating between two periods of
fighting.
Lawyer is someone who makes crime pay.
Intellectuals are people who solve problems; geniuses
prevent them.
Meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours
are wasted.

 Definition should not be circular. It should not use the

defined term as part of its definition. Most circular
definitions give us little or no information at all and
should be avoided for that reason.
Examples:

An inventor is one who invents something.

A wall clock is a clock on the wall.
An eyebrow is the brow of the eye.
A voter is anyone who votes.

 Definition should not be needlessly negative. As a rile,

opposition is not an adequate way of defining terms. A
definition must state what a thing is, not what a thing
is not. Definition should not be negative when it could be
affirmative.
Examples:

Odd is not even.

Antonym is the opposite of synonym.
Adolescent is neither a child nor an adult.
Antipathy is the antonym of sympathy.

Negative definition, however, is correctly employed when

it refers to a privation as in this example: A blind man is
one that cannot see; a crippled man is one that cannot
walk. This definition is likewise valid if applied to realities
we do not know well: God is a Being that is not caused.
 Definition must be precise, i.e., it must be too narrow or
too broad. A definition is too narrow if it prevents us from
applying a term all of the things which it can be applied. A
definition is too broad if it allows us to apply a term to
things to which we cannot applied. In short, if a definition
is too broad the defining term includes too much; if it is
too narrow, the defining term includes too little. To satisfy
the criterion for a good definition, the defining term must
be precise. For a definition to be precise, the definiendum
and the definiens must be mutually interchangeable. In
replacing the definiendum with the definiens in a given
sentence, the substitution should result in a sentence
faithful to the original. Here are some definitions that
violate this rule:

Definitions that are too broad

Suppose we define “bachelor” as “unmarried male”.
At first glance this might look all right, but it applies to a
lot of things, for example, male dogs, and male babies,
that, needless to say, are not bachelors. A definition is too
broad if it applies to things that are not part of the
extension of the word defined. To correct this fallacy,
narrow the definition. In this case, “bachelor” means
“unmarried man”.

E-mail is a message sent electronically. The definition of

an email as a “message sent electronically” is too broad
since it allows us to refer to SMS (short message service),
which is not an e-mail.

A square is a four-sided polygon. There are four sided

polygons like rectangle and rhombus and diamond that
are not square.

A cat is a domestic animal. There are domestic

animals other than cats like dogs, birds and hamsters.

Knife is an instrument for cutting. Many instruments

other than knives are used for cutting like scissors and
nail cutters.

Jupiter is a planet. There are many other planets.

Automobile is any vehicle that has wheels. This

would include golf carts and even wheelchairs.

Definitions that are too narrow

A woman is a married mother. This definition as a

“married mother” prevents us from applying the term to
females that are not married.
A doctor is a surgeon. It excludes those who
specialized on other fields of medicine such as
obstetrician, pediatricians and those who hold a
doctorate.

A bird is a feathered egg-laying animal. It excludes

male birds.

Firecracker is a high-powered explosive firework. It

excludes other fireworks that do not have violent blast
like triangle, fountain, and baby dynamite, among others.