paradox
Meaning
A statement or situation that contains two opposite facts or characteristics and therefore seems impossible or difficult to understand.
A person or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities.
Structure
Usage
The idea of being cruel to be kind is a well-known paradox.
It is a paradox that in times of plenty, we often feel the greatest sense of scarcity.
He was a paradox—a reclusive man who became a public celebrity.
Etymology
The word 'paradox' entered English in the mid-16th century from the Late Latin paradoxum, which itself was borrowed from the Greek paradoxon, a noun derived from the adjective paradoxos. The Greek term was a compound of the prefix para- ("contrary to") and doxa ("opinion, expectation"). Literally, it meant "contrary to expectation or received opinion." This etymological logic is preserved in the modern definition: a paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that, upon investigation, may prove to be well-founded or true, thereby challenging conventional belief. The journey from the concrete Greek notion of "against opinion" to the abstract English concept of a logical puzzle illustrates how classical roots were adapted to articulate complex philosophical and rhetorical ideas.
Analysis
- para: A prefix of Greek origin meaning "beside, beyond, contrary to, or against." - dox: A root from Greek doxa, meaning "belief, opinion, glory."