determinate

English

Etymology

From Latin dēterminātus, perfect passive participle of dēterminō (“I limit, set bounds”).

Pronunciation

• (adjective, noun) IPA^(key): /dɪˈtɜːmɪnət/
• (verb) IPA^(key): /dɪˈtɜːmɪneɪt/

Adjective

determinate (not comparable)

1. Distinct, clearly defined. [from 14th c.]
   • (Can we date this quote by Dryden and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Quantity of words and a determinate number of feet.

   • 1938, Xavier Herbert, Capricornia, Chapter VIII, p. 122, [1]

     […] on account of his responsibility to Norman and Marigold, and on account of his now determinate age, he considered himself ineligible for more dangerous service.

2. Fixed, set, unvarying. [from 16th c.]
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts II:

     hym have ye taken by the hondes of unrightewes persones, after he was delivered by the determinat counsell and foreknowledge of God, and have crucified and slayne hym [...].

3. (biology) Of growth: ending once a genetically predetermined structure has formed.
4. Conclusive; decisive; positive.
   • Bible, Acts ii. 23

     The determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.

5. (obsolete) Determined or resolved upon.
   • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     My determinate voyage.

6. Of determined purpose; resolute.
   • (Can we date this quote by Sir Philip Sidney and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     More determinate to do than skillful how to do.

Antonyms

• (limited): indeterminate, nondeterminate
• (biology): indeterminate

Derived terms

• determinateness

Related terms

• determinacy
• determination
• determine
• deterministic

Translations

distinct, defined

• Bulgarian: определен (bg) (opredelen), установен (bg) (ustanoven), ограничен (bg) (ograničen)
• German: bestimmt (de), entschieden (de), eindeutig (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: meghatározott (hu)
• Spanish: determinado (es)

Noun

determinate (plural determinates)

1. (philosophy) A single state of a particular determinable attribute.
   • 2007 September 5, David Denby, “Generating possibilities”, in Philosophical Studies, volume 141, number 2, →DOI:

     And since being negatively-charged and being positively-charged are determinates of the same determinable, [D5] will not permit us to infer worlds where anything negatively-charged is also positively-charged.

Verb

1. (obsolete) To bring to an end; to determine.
   • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     The sly, slow hours shall not determinate / The dateless limit of thy dear exile.

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Esperanto

Adverb

determinate

1. present adverbial passive participle of determini

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Italian

Adjective

determinate f pl

1. feminine plural of determinato

Anagrams

• demeritante

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Latin

Verb

(deprecated template usage) dētermināte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of dēterminō