ostensible

ostensible
\ \ [18] Ostensible means literallythat can be shown’. It comes via French from medieval Latin ostensibilis, a derivative of the Latin verb ostendereshow’ (itself a compound formed from the prefix ob- ‘in front ofand tenderestretch’, source of English extend, tend, tense etc). Its original meaningshowablesurvived into English (‘You should send me two lettersone confidential, another ostensible’, Jeremy Bentham, 1828), but seems to have died out by the mid-19th century. Two metaphorical strands came with it, though. One, ‘vainly conspicuous’, goes right back to ostendere, and is still preserved in English ostentation [15], although it has disappeared as far as ostensible is concerned. The other, ‘presented as real but not so’, is today the central meaning of the adjective.
\ \ Cf.EXTEND, OSTENTATION, TEND, TENSE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • ostensible — [ ɔstɑ̃sibl ] adj. • 1739; du lat. ostensus, p. p. de ostendere « montrer » 1 ♦ Vx Qui peut être montré publiquement sans inconvénient. 2 ♦ (1801) Littér. Qui est fait sans se cacher ou avec l intention d être remarqué. ⇒ apparent, ouvert, patent …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • ostensible — I adjective able to be seen, apparent, appearing, assumable, assumed, avowed, believable, claimed, clear, colorable, conjecturable, credible, deceiving, deceptive, declared, deluding, delusional, delusive, delusory, discernible, evident, explicit …   Law dictionary

  • ostensible — ostensible, ostensive Ostensible means ‘apparent but not necessarily real’ or ‘professed’: • Despite their ostensible commitment to revolution, they played an ambivalent and ultimately counter revolutionary role E. Acton, 1992. It is often used… …   Modern English usage

  • Ostensible — Os*ten si*ble ([o^]s*t[e^]n s[i^]*b l), a. [From L. ostensus, p. p. of ostendere to show, prop., to stretch out before; fr. prefix obs (old form of ob ) + tendere to stretch. See {Tend}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Capable of being shown; proper or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ostensible — ‘Manifiesto o patente’: «Dolores, con ostensible indiferencia, tararea» (Gambaro Malasangre [Arg. 1982]). No debe confundirse con ostentoso (‘llamativo por su suntuosidad o aparatosidad’; → ostentoso) …   Diccionario panhispánico de dudas

  • ostensible — 1762, from Fr. ostensible, from L. ostensus, pp. of ostendere to show, from ob in front of + tendere to stretch (see TENET (Cf. tenet)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • ostensible — adjetivo 1. (antepuesto / pospuesto) Uso/registro: elevado. Que se nota o se percibe con sólo observarlo superficialmente: Su amargura resultaba ostensible, aunque intentaba ocultarla …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • ostensible — *apparent, seeming, illusory Analogous words: specious, *plausible, colorable: pretended, assumed, affected, simulated, feigned (see ASSUME) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • ostensible — [adj] alleged, supposed apparent, avowed, colorable, demonstrative, exhibited, illusive, illusory, likely, manifest, notable, outward, plausible, pretended, professed, purported, quasi, seeming, semblant, so called*, specious, superficial;… …   New thesaurus

  • ostensible — (Del lat. ostendĕre, mostrar). 1. adj. Que puede manifestarse o mostrarse. 2. Claro, manifiesto, patente …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • ostensible — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ apparently true, but not necessarily so. DERIVATIVES ostensibly adverb. ORIGIN Latin ostensibilis, from ostendere stretch out to view …   English terms dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
https://ayto.en-academic.com/4360/ostensible Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”