distinctio
9.9
A clear explanation of different meanings of a word to avoid confusion
- noun
- /dɪˈstɪŋkʃi.oʊ/
- Specialized
:
distinción
- The teacher used distinctio to clarify the different meanings of the term 'justice' for his students.
Examples
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In her speech, she employed distinctio to explain how 'freedom' could mean various things in different contexts.
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To avoid confusion, the author added a distinctio to outline the several interpretations of the word 'light'.
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Distinctio: reference to various meanings of a word in order to remove ambiguities.
Academic text (1997)
Synonyms
rhetorical device
vsdistinctio
2
6.6
A way of using language to persuade or add emphasis
is a specific technique that explains multiple meanings to prevent misunderstanding
Antonyms
Surface Forms
distinctio singular
distinctiones plural
Etymology
Distinctio comes from the same root as English distinct, which means 'separate' or 'standing apart'. In writing and speech it became a way of 'separating' meanings by explaining different senses of a word so people do not get confused.