Etymograph

English

pseudoargument

Pseudoargument comes from Latin argūmentum ‘argument’, and goes back to arguō ‘to prove or demonstrate’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarguō1‘to prove or demonstrate’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEargūmentum2‘argument’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400arguement2
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500argument2
  5. English1500–presentargument2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1990pseudoargument2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin argumentum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English pseudoargument
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1990, Stuart Hirchberg: “Begging the question — a pseudoargument that offers as…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarguōWiktionary, Latin argumentum‘to prove or demonstrate’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEargūmentumWiktionary, English pseudoargument‘argument’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400arguementWiktionary, English pseudoargument
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500argumentWiktionary, English pseudoargument
  5. English1500–presentargumentWiktionary, English pseudoargument
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1990pseudoargumentWiktionary, English pseudoargument. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1990, Stuart Hirchberg: “Begging the question — a pseudoargument that offers as…”

A compound of pseudo- + argument

Ancient Greek ψεύδω ‘to lie’

Ancient Greek ψευδής ‘false, lying’

English pseudo-

Latin arguō ‘to make clear, prove’

Latin argūmentum ‘argument, proof’

Old French arguement

Middle English argument

English argument

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂erǵ- ‘white, shining’

argentine, argent, 52 more

through Latin arguō ‘to prove or demonstrate’

argue, arguable, 29 more

through Latin argūmentum ‘argument’

argumentative, argumentation, 19 more

Today it means

noun fallacious argument, incorrect argument

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pseudoargument”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin argumentum. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin arguō / pseudoargument

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