Logical

How to spell logical

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce logical

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does logical mean?

1. adjectiveFollowing clearly from reason or sound argument; sensible and consistent.

Logical in a sentence

• Her conclusion was the only logical outcome of the evidence.

• Selling the second car seemed a logical way to cut costs.

Where does logical come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word traces back to the ancient Greek logos, a remarkably rich noun that meant both 'word' and 'reason' or 'account', and which gave rise to logike, the art of reasoning. Latin took this up as logicus, meaning 'of reasoning', and the adjective passed through Late Latin and medieval scholarship before English adopted 'logical' in the late 1400s by attaching the familiar English ending -al to the existing word 'logic'. From the start it described arguments, conclusions, and people who reasoned soundly, and that core idea of orderly reasoning has stayed remarkably stable. The same logos sits inside a huge family of English words, from 'logic' and 'apology' to every science ending in -ology, where it signals the study or reasoned account of something. Because the word is built so transparently from 'logic' plus a regular suffix, the spelling rarely strays, with the soft -gical ending being the only spot that catches anyone out.

How the word is built

• log- (from Greek logos: reason, word)
• -ic (relating to)
• -al (adjective suffix)