self-evidentadj.n.
/ˌsɛlfˈɛvᵻd(ə)nt/, U.S. /ˌsɛlfˈɛvəd(ə)nt/ A. adj.
Evident by itself; requiring no proof or explanation; obvious, axiomatic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > evident certainty > [adjective] > evident without proof
self-evidencing1632
self-evident1643
axiomatical1678
self-evidential1700
gratuitous1775
axiomatic1797
1643 P. Hunton Treat. Monarchie ii. vii. 68 Whether the People are bound to obey the authority of two, or one of the Legislative Estates..being apparent and self-evident.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding i. ii. 8 These general and self-evident Maxims.
1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. ii. Concl. 290 The Truth of revealed Religion,..is not self-evident.
1785 Morning Herald 14 Nov. Mr. Theatricus..took some pains to make a lapse..appear singularly glaring, by an injudicious defence of a self-evident error.
1861 F. A. Paley Æschylus' Persians 578 (note) This is one of those happy emendations which at once commend themselves by a self-evident propriety.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 405 The self-evident fact that growth is the result of eating and drinking.
1935 N.Y. Times Mag. 28 July 7/5 They [sc. portable air conditioners] may even postpone the revolution in architecture..that must come if central air conditioning is to become a self-evident necessity.
1971 E. A. Fitzpatrick Pedology i. 4/1 In some cases the contrast between horizons is dramatic and self-evident, while in others it is very subtle.
2016 Church Times 24 June 28/2 The collection is presented, unapologetically, as if the value of engaging with Augustine's writings is self-evident.
B. n.
Something which is self-evident, esp. a proposition which requires no proof or explanation. Also with the: that which is self-evident; the obvious.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > self-evident truth, axiom > [noun]
truth1500
maxim?1530
head assertion1531
maximum1563
maxima1564
axiom1578
self-evident1675
truism1714
postulate1751
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical reasoning > [noun] > deductivism or a priori reasoning > a principle or axiom
principlea1387
maximc1450
first principle1525
ground1528
principal1545
principium1550
protasis1572
theorem1588
postulate1590
axiom1593
groundsel1604
postulatuma1620
praecognitum1624
datum1646
self-evident1675
philosopheme1678
dictum of all and none1697
dictum of Aristotle1827
prius1882
ground rule1890
posit1900
1675 R. Ferguson Interest of Reason in Relig. i. i. 25 We must in all things, save a few Self-Evidents, introduce and Establish Scepticism.
1748 W. Duncan Elements Logick iii. v. 258 It [sc. Logic]..distinguishes the self-evident from the demonstrable.
1868 Athenæum 22 Aug. 241/3 The relations of premise and consequence which exist between self-evidents.
1870 A. Austin Poetry of Period 93 It were sheer waste of time to demonstrate the self-evident.
1954 H. M. Kallen Secularism is Will of God ix. 76 Whether in a personal history or a social institution, the self-evident and the infallible can remain such but briefly.
1998 Book Oct. 12/2 To the millions of people who gather with their own reading groups..for lively discussion, Styron was merely expressing the self-evident.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > evident certainty > [noun]
apparency1604
self-evidence1652
self-evidentism1825
unmistakability1857
1825 New Monthly Mag. 13 336 Two propositions, which she is ready to back for self-evidentism against any two in Euclid.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.n.1643