Empirical

How to spell empirical

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce empirical

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does empirical mean?

1. adjectiveBased on observation, measurement, or direct experiment rather than on theory or pure logic.

Empirical in a sentence

• The report relied on empirical data gathered over five years.

• Their claims lacked empirical support from any controlled study.

Where does empirical come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek empeirikos, meaning 'experienced' or 'skilled through practice', which was built on empeiria, the noun for 'experience', itself formed from en 'in' and peira 'a trial or attempt'. In antiquity the Empeirikoi were a school of physicians who trusted hands-on observation and trial rather than abstract theory, and that contrast between observed evidence and pure reasoning still defines the word today. Latin took it up as empiricus, and English adopted it in the late 1500s, at first often dismissively, to describe a quack who relied on experiment instead of formal medical learning. Over time the negative tinge fell away and the word came to mean simply 'based on observation or experiment'. The same Greek peira 'trial' also lies hidden inside 'pirate', who originally was one who 'makes an attempt' on the seas, and the buried p after the m is exactly the spot that trips writers who expect a smoother spelling.

How the word is built

• em- (from Greek en-: in, within)
• pir (from peira: trial, experiment)
• -ical (adjective suffix)