ostensible
English
Etymology
Borrowed from French ostensible, formed, with the suffix -ible, from Latin ostensus, the past participle of ostendō (“show”), itself from obs- (“in front of”) (akin to ob- (“in the way”) and to Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí, “on, at, besides, after”) and Old English eofot (“crime”)) + tendō (“stretch”) (akin to Ancient Greek τείνω (teínō)). Cf. also Medieval Latin ostensibilis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
ostensible (comparative more ostensible, superlative most ostensible)
- Apparent, evident; meant for open display.
- 1956–1960, R.S. Peters, The Concept of Motivation, Routledge & Kegan Paul (second edition, 1960), chapter ii: “Motives and Motivation”, page 32:
- Motives, of course, may be mixed; but this only means that a man aims at a variety of goals by means of the same course of action. Similarly a man may have a strong motive or a weak one, an ulterior motive or an ostensible one.
-
- In witch-trials the conflict was officially defined as between the accused and God, or between the accused and the Catholic (later Protestant) church, as God's earthly representative. [...]
Behind the ostensible conflict of the witch-trial lay the usual conflicts of social class, values, and human relationships.
- In witch-trials the conflict was officially defined as between the accused and God, or between the accused and the Catholic (later Protestant) church, as God's earthly representative. [...]
- 2016 January 26, "When ‘Made In Israel’ Is a Human Rights Abuse," The New York Times (retrieved 26 January 2016):
- The ostensible reason this provision was added to a bill on international trade is to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a grass-roots campaign that seeks to pressure Israel to change its policies toward the Palestinians.
- 1956–1960, R.S. Peters, The Concept of Motivation, Routledge & Kegan Paul (second edition, 1960), chapter ii: “Motives and Motivation”, page 32:
- Appearing as such; being such in appearance; professed, supposed (rather than demonstrably true or real).
- The ostensible reason for his visit to New York was to see his mother, but the real reason was to get to the Yankees game the next day.
Antonyms
- (meant for open display): ulterior
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
|
|
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
|
|
References
- ostensible at OneLook Dictionary Search
French
Etymology
Formed, with the suffix -ible, from Latin ostensus, past participle of ostendō (“I show”), itself from obs- in front of (akin to ob- in the way; akin to Greek epi 'on, at, besides, after' and Old English eofot crime) + tendō (“I stretch”) (Greek teinein); or borrowed from Medieval Latin ostensibilis.
Derived terms
Related terms
- ostentateur
- ostentatoire
Further reading
- “ostensible” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin ostensibilis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ostenˈsible/, [ost̪ẽnˈsiβle]