equivocation

English

Alternative forms

• æquivocation (archaic)

Etymology

c. 1380, from Middle English equivocacion, from Old French equivocation, from Medieval Latin aequivocātiō, from aequivocō, from Late Latin aequivocus (“ambiguous, equivocal”), from Latin aequus (“equal”) + vocō (“call”); a calque of Ancient Greek ὁμωνυμία (homōnumía).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˌkwɪvəˈkeɪʃən/, /ɪˌkwɪvəˈkeɪʃn̩/, /əˌkwɪvəˈkeɪʃn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: e‧quiv‧o‧ca‧tion
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

equivocation (countable and uncountable, plural equivocations)

1. (logic) A logical fallacy resulting from the use of multiple meanings of a single expression.
2. The use of expressions susceptible of a double signification, possibly intentionally and with the aim of misleading.

Related terms

• amphiboly, evasion, evasiveness, prevarication, equivoque

Translations

Logical fallacy

• Dutch: ambiguïteitsdrogreden f, equivocatie, gelijknamigheid f
• French: équivocité (fr) f, équivoque (fr) f
• Hungarian: mellébeszélés (hu)
• Occitan: équivocitat f
• Polish: ekwiwokacja f
• Portuguese: equivocidade f, equívoco (pt) m
• Spanish: equívoco (es) m, equivocidad (es) f
• Swedish: ekvivokation (sv)

Expression susceptible of a double signification, possibly misleading

• Bulgarian: двусмислица (bg) f (dvusmislica)
• Dutch: dubbelzinnigheid (nl) f
• French: équivoque (fr) f, quiproquo (fr) m
• German: Mehrdeutigkeit (de) f, Doppeldeutigkeit (de) f, Ambiguität (de) f, Zweideutigkeit (de) f, Vieldeutigkeit f, Wortspiel (de) n, Wortverdrehung f
• Hungarian: köntörfalazás (hu)
• Japanese: 二枚舌 (ja) (nimaijita)
• Macedonian: двосми́сленост f (dvosmíslenost), двосми́слица f (dvosmíslica)
• Polish: ekwiwokacja f
• Spanish: ambigüedad (es) f, evasivas (es) f pl, equívoca (es) f
• Swedish: tvetydighet (sv)

Further reading

• https://www.logicalfallacies.org/equivocation.html

Old French

Noun

equivocation oblique singular, f (oblique plural equivocations, nominative singular equivocation, nominative plural equivocations)

1. equivocation

   Si avoit trovee occasion de li gaber par l'equivocation de son nom