a polysyllogism in which the premises are arranged so that intermediate conclusions are omitted, being understood, and only the final conclusion is stated
b.
a paradox of the form
these few grains of sand do not constitute a heap, and the addition of a single grainnever makes what is not yet a heap into a heap: so no matter how many single grainsone adds it never becomes a heap
Derived forms
soritical (sɒˈrɪtɪkəl) or soritic (soˈritic)
adjective
Word origin
C16: via Latin from Greek sōreitēs, literally: heaped, from sōros a heap
sorites in American English
(soʊˈraɪtiz)
nounWord forms: pluralsoˈrites
Logic
a series of premises followed by a conclusion, arranged so that the predicate of the first premise is the subject of the next, and so forth, the conclusion uniting the subject of the first with the predicate of the last in an elliptical series of syllogisms
Word origin
L < Gr sōreitēs (syllogismos), heaped up (syllogism) < sōros, a heap: see soma1