acatalepsy

noun

acat·​a·​lep·​sy

(ˈ)āˈkatᵊlˌepsē

plural -es

1

: an ancient Skeptic doctrine that human knowledge amounts only to probability and never to certainty

2

: real or apparent impossibility of arriving at certain knowledge or full comprehension

Word History

Etymology

Greek akatalēpsia, from a- a- entry 2 + katalēpsis comprehension, seizing + -ia

First Known Use

1640, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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