Dialethia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A contradictory statement that is considered both true and false at the same time, a notion associated with certain paradox-tolerant logics
2. A proposition held to be simultaneously true and false, in the sense that its truth and its falsity are both accepted
3. The claim that a single assertion can be both accurate and inaccurate at once, studied in logics that tolerate true contradictions

Etymology: In Greek, "alētheia" meant "truth," and "dia-" means "through" or "across." Put together, they name a statement that is both true and false, a contradiction that holds rather than being ruled out. The word is a modern technical coinage, built from classical roots to label a concept that ancient Greek speakers never framed this way. Its close relative "dialetheism" names the position that some contradictions are genuinely true. The philosopher Graham Priest is its best-known defender, and his work made the term standard in philosophical logic.

Synonyms: dialetheism