rational
See also: rațional
English
Alternative forms
- rationall (obsolete)
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Old French rationel, rational, from Latin rationalis (“of or belonging to reason, rational, reasonable”), from ratio (“reason”).
Adjective
rational (comparative more rational, superlative most rational)
- Capable of reasoning.
- Man is a rational creature.
- 2001, Mark Sainsbury, chapter 1, in Logical Forms — An Introduction to Philosophical Logic, 2nd edition, Blackwell Publishing, →ISBN, §7, page 32:
- The utility of valid arguments is a monument to our frailty: to the fact that we are not completely rational beings.
- Logically sound; not contradictory or otherwise absurd.
- His statements were quite rational.
- (of a person or personal characteristics) Healthy or balanced intellectually; exhibiting reasonableness.
- rational conduct
- 2014 June 21, “Magician’s brain”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8892:
- The [Isaac] Newton that emerges from the [unpublished] manuscripts is far from the popular image of a rational practitioner of cold and pure reason. The architect of modern science was himself not very modern. He was obsessed with alchemy.
- (mathematics, arithmetic, number theory, not comparable) Of a number, capable of being expressed as the ratio of two integers.
- ¾ is a rational number, but √2 is an irrational number.
- (mathematics, arithmetic, not comparable) Of an algebraic expression, capable of being expressed as the ratio of two polynomials.
- (chemistry) Expressing the type, structure, relations, and reactions of a compound; graphic; said of formulae.
- (physics) Expressing a physical object.
- A rational table is physical, a written table is neither.
Antonyms
- (reasonable): absurd, irrational, nonsensical
- (capable of reasoning): arational, irrational, non-rational
- (number theory): irrational
Related terms
Terms etymologically related to rational
Translations
capable of reasoning
|
reasonable; not absurd
arithmetic: of a number
|
arithmetic: of an algebraic expression
|
Noun
rational (plural rationals)
- (mathematics) A rational number: a number that can be expressed as the quotient of two integers.
- The quotient of two rationals is again a rational.
Translations
rational number — see rational number
Etymology 2
From Old French rational, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Medieval Latin rationale (“a pontifical stole, a pallium, an ornament worn over the chasuble”), neuter of (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin rationalis (“rational”), for which see the first etymology. Translation of λογεῖον (logeîon) or perhaps λόγιον (lógion, “oracle”) in the Septuagint version of Exodus 28.
Noun
rational (plural rationals)
- (historical) The breastplate worn by Israelite high priests.
- 1609, The Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Lavrence Kellam, […], →OCLC, Exodvs 28:15, page 234:
- The Rationale of iudgement alſo thou shalt mke with embrodered worke of diuers colours, according to the workmanship of the Ephod of gold, hyacinth, and purple, and ſcarlet twiſe died, and twiſted ſilke.
Translations
Translations
References
- “rational”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “rational”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Further reading
- "rational" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 252.
Anagrams
German
Etymology
From Latin rationalis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
rational (comparative rationaler, superlative am rationalsten)
Declension
Further reading
- “rational” in Duden online
Categories:
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Mathematics
- en:Arithmetic
- en:Number theory
- en:Chemistry
- en:Physics
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms with historical senses
- English 2-syllable words
- German terms borrowed from Latin
- German terms derived from Latin
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German lemmas
- German adjectives