ignotum per ignotius

English dictionary entry

Meanings

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

Word forms

ignotum per ignotius

Etymology

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

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