ignotum per ignotius

English

Etymology

From Latin ignōtum per ignōtius, “[to explain] the unknown by the more unknown”.

Phrase

ignotum per ignotius

1. An attempt to explain something obscure in terms of something else which is even more obscure.
2. (logic) A type of fallacious argument in which one attempts to prove something unknown by relying upon an assumption that is also unknown.

Synonyms

• obscurum per obscurius

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “ignotum per ignotius”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.