Main Entry: em·pir·i·cism

Pronunciation: \im-ˈpir-ə-ˌsi-zəm, em-\

Function: noun

Date: 1657

1 a : a former school of medical practice founded on experience without the aid of science or theory b : quackery, charlatanry
2 a : the practice of relying on observation and experiment especially in the natural sciences b : a tenet arrived at empirically
3 : a theory that all knowledge originates in experience

— em·pir·i·cist \-sist\ noun