Etymology
Advertisement

heuristic (adj.)

"serving to discover or find out," 1821, irregular formation from Greek heuriskein "to find; find out, discover; devise, invent; get, gain, procure" (from PIE *were- (2) "to find;" cognate with Old Irish fuar "I have found") + -istic. As a noun, from 1860. Greek had heuretikos "inventive," also heurema "an invention, a discovery; that which is found unexpectedly."

Entries linking to heuristic

-istic 
adjectival word-forming element, from French -istique or directly from Latin -isticus, from Greek -istikos, a compound of the adjectival suffix -ikos (see -ic) + the noun suffix -istes (see -ist).
eureka 
c. 1600, from Greek heureka "I have found (it)," first person singular perfect active indicative of heuriskein "to find" (see heuristic). Supposedly shouted by Archimedes (c. 287-212 B.C.E.) when he solved a problem that had been set to him: determining whether goldsmiths had adulterated the metal in the crown of Hiero II, king of Syracuse.
heuristics (n.)

"study of heuristic methods," 1897, from heuristic (n.), for which see heuristic (adj.); also see -ics.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Definitions of heuristic
1
heuristic (n.)
a commonsense rule (or set of rules) intended to increase the probability of solving some problem;
Synonyms: heuristic rule / heuristic program
2
heuristic (adj.)
of or relating to or using a general formulation that serves to guide investigation;
From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near heuristic

heterosexuality

heterotroph

heterotrophy

heterozygous

hetman

heuristic

heuristics

hew

hewer

hewn

hex

© 2001-2022 Douglas Harper